


Game, set, match

by bibitta007



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:57:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3237140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bibitta007/pseuds/bibitta007
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Both of them are so competitive and eager to win…and they’re also on the FBI’s most wanted list… What if Red and Sam are the greatest enemies? What if Red doesn’t want to protect Liz as she doesn’t want him being alive? What if they’re chasing each other? And who will win? Lizzington AU...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> .I was watching one of my favorite movies (which I won’t tell yet because you guys would easily figure out the end of the second chapter :D) where the main character ended up in a really awkward yet funny situation and then a thought struck me; what if Red ends up like this because of Lizzie? What situation could bring him into a crazy position like that? Two days active brainstorming later I ended up in front of my computer and typing this story aaaand here we are! :D I can’t wait to continue but only if you guys interested ‘cause sometimes my excitement clouds my judgments so tell me what to do…pretty please?  
>  Okay, I’m speaking too much so LET THE GAME BEGINS!  
> I don’t own anything…except my fat cat…no, I don’t own her either…she owns me *sigh*

** …Spain, 6 am. …**

Red was enjoying his tea with his favorite newspapers somewhere in Spain when Dembe disturbed the beautiful early-summer morning. Red looked up and when his eyes met with his bodyguard’s serious, almost confused face he let out a heavy sigh and threw the newspaper to the table.

“What happened now?”

“I have two good information and two bad ones.” said the bodyguard with his almost shockingly calm voice. “Which one would you like to hear first?”

“Let’s start with the good news.” he wanted to mentally prepare himself for the bad news and collected all his willpower not to think about the worst.

It had been a rough month for him, mainly for the business; less and less clients wanted to work with him because of Sam Milhoan; that son of a bitch had let out groundless information about Chris Whittaker and this information had said that the FBI had caught Whittaker because his new passport had been suck which had come from Red so if not directly but this gossip went against Red who didn’t want anything more than take Sam’s neck between his hands and squeeze it ‘til he wouldn’t feel any life in that bastard.

Red still couldn’t figure out how their friendship had become so hostile; in a moment two naval officers’d been standing next to each other, organizing grill parties and on the other they’d been holding guns against each other’s head.

Why?

Red didn’t know what had happened with Sam. But what he did know that Sam was responsible for the bombing in Kursk in 1991 and he’d blamed Reddington for it, forcing him to run away and abandon his family.

They were so familiar but two important facts separated them; Red hadn’t done anything and while the world knew Raymond Reddington as the Concierge of Crime, Sam Milhoan was well-known as Senator Sam Milhoan, the honorable man, great politician, abided by the law who had lost his daughter and his wife in a fire.

It was only half-true; the little girl’d survived the fire, Red had pretty good proof.

And Sam was everything but abiding.

In fact Sam was one of the greatest criminals but he hid it behind a Good- Samaritan mask like Floriana Campo. Sometimes Red wondered if Sam had always been this hypocrite or something in him’d broken with his wife’s death which wouldn’t surprise him because Jessica Milhoan hadn’t been an ordinary woman; she’d been a real life-artist, who had lived her life with passion and happiness. She had been an also talented photographer but unfortunately her name’d disappeared between the cogs of time as well as her photos.

She was a wonderful woman, great wife, loving mother and good friend.

When Jessica had died Red’d grieved her with almost equal pain as Sam because that woman was Red’s only true friend from the early years of their childhood; they’d experienced many great things together but their relationship stopped at friend-zone. Somehow they hadn’t thought about each-other in a romantically way, moreover, once when both of them had been really drunk Jessica’d kissed him to test if they had been feeling any thrilling sensation but nothing. The following day Red had introduced Sam to her and the rest of the story was history.

“Good news is that an exhibition is opened in San Francisco with Jessica Milhoan’s photos.” with that Dembe handed a picture about the ‘great’ senator as he opened the doors in front of the folks.

As an art-lover, Red’s eyes lit up with happiness because he was quite fond of Jessica’s works and he’d always wanted to buy some of her photos but he had never had the chance because he’d thought that they’d burned down in the fire.

“Splendid. Please give a call to Eric to get the jet ready; I want to visit this exhibition.” he nodded “What is the other good news?”

“We found the Milhoan girl and yet we still don’t know where she is. This was one of the bad info by the way.”

“What do you mean you found her but you don’t know where she is?” Red furrowed his brows and took a look on the paper that Dembe’d handed a second ago;

_Ten Most Wanted_

_The FBI is offering rewards for information leading to the apprehension of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives._

“Why am I looking at?”

“Number 9- the Kisser; 5 ft.4.5 in, 130 lbs., blonde hair, light skin, white race. She is around 30 but there isn’t any exact date. Fraud, blackmailing and robbery. It’s the only one picture about her.” Dembe gave his boss a black and white photo, probably taken by a camera at one of the train stations. She was wrapped up in a big shawl, only the hairline was visible at her forehead and her eyes were covered by large black sunglasses. She had high cheekbones, and well-shaped nose but it wasn’t that caught Red’s attention.

Her lips.

They were dark in the photo probably because of the lipstick she was wearing; they were full and slightly bow-shaped and Red’s male instincts got free and mentally did naughty things with those lips but a second later he shook his head. She was probably his enemy’s daughter…but of course, it didn’t mean that Red didn’t find her attractive.

There was something how she walked…something mysterious and confident.

“She can be anybody.” Red growled without looking up.

“Yes, but it also says that she has a scar on her right wrist.” Dembe slightly turned up the corner of his lips as his boss suddenly looked up and smirked.

“Is she the one who always left the mark of her lips at the crime scene? THAT Kisser?”

“Yes. Probably she’s using a special lipstick which ‘kills’ her DNA or maybe she is not in the FBI’s system.”

“Well, well, well… finally I found you, Lizzie. The question is; where are you?” he took one last look on the picture before he’d tossed above the newspapers and drew a deep breath as he asked his bodyguard. “And what is the bad one?”

“Somebody broke into the system of Monarch Douglas Bank in Warsaw. This somebody stole twenty million dollars from your account and almost got the necessary data to the Fulcrum but he or she failed. The system shut down in time.”

Red groaned and went to the windows to take a look on the dawn. “This thief knows about the Fulcrum which means he or she has me watched. Maybe our dear friend, Sam hired somebody. Call Herrick and tell him that I want a full report within the hour.” Red ordered and put his hands into his pockets. “And don’t forget to call the pilot; I want to be in San Francisco as soon as possible.”

“Okay,” the bodyguard answered shortly then turned around to leave his boss alone because he knew Red would need some time alone with his thoughts to figure out his next step.

“Thank you, my friend.” Red added and finished his tea with a last sip.

** …San Francisco, 4 pm. … **

****

“You know what you have to do.” it was more a statement than a question from a brown-haired guy who was well-known as Thomas Vincent Keen.

If somebody met with him in the street (s)he would have told that he was an average guy in his mid-thirties with piercing blue eyes and short stubble. He looked nice, dare to say, _cute_. Especially when he arched his eyebrows under his black-rimmed glasses.

He didn’t look like a murder who had just ended up three human being’s life a day before.

“Calm down, Tom. Seriously, if I’d known that you would be so wimp I wouldn’t have slept with you.” grinned Elizabeth Milhoan, aka Elizabeth Keen, aka The Kisser.

He could tell that her grin wanted to hide the embarrassment that she felt because of the other guy who was drawing a complete art-piece to her right lower arm from elbow to palm. “Is this really necessary?” she pointed to her arm with her head.

“Yes. Reddington knows about your scar and if he recognizes it before you could dance with him, he will turn you down.”

Of course their coded conversation was necessary because of the third party in the room; ‘ _dance’_ meant ‘ _seduce and kill_ ’ and ‘ _turn you down’_ was also euphemism to _‘kill_ ’.

“Okay, I’m ready. They’re prime inks but don’t rub it unless you want to remove it. If you change your mind and want me to make it with real tattoo ink, just give me a call.” the guy smiled and handed his phone number.

“Thank you.” she smiled and hopped down from the chair.

After they left the tattoo salon they went to his apartment to discuss every detail and have a little fun before work.

They weren’t in love but it didn’t stop them to have sex with each other sometimes. The chemistry worked, they were young, and loved sex.

Simple as that.

And also both of them were aware of the fact that they couldn’t love anybody in the world they were living because it was weakness and it was dangerous.

Liz didn’t even know if she had ever loved someone with passion; she didn’t really understand the chaos around love…why was it such a big deal? You could have great sex without it and you won’t get hurt in the end, she thought.

She wasn’t heartless of course, she cared about her father, valuable people around her, she even cared about Tom and in some level she loved him but not in a ‘classic love’ way, however she thought that Tom’s feelings were deeper and stronger. She still couldn’t figure out how or why she felt this way…maybe his eyes whispered his secret devotion when they were together or when she had caught his gaze on her.

Liz shook her head and concentrated on the task. She had to put herself together because within the hour she would meet with her mother’s murder and she would have to pretend that she wouldn’t know who he was.

“Don’t use make-up. You look younger without it.” Tom smiled as he stepped next to her and stared her reflection in the full-length mirror.

“What if he won’t be interested?”

“Liz, please. You’re young and beautiful. And you also know how to seduce a man.” Tom smirked as he kissed her nape then he handed her a syringe. “If you got the necessary data, just stab him with this and use the whole dose; if you just give him half he’ll take a long nap and it won’t kill him. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes. I can do it.” Liz nodded confidently.

“Your dad will kill me if he finds out.” he sighed.

“I know that he didn’t want me to make a career as a criminal but I don’t really care. Raymond Reddington killed my mother and nearly killed me, too. I won’t stop until I see his dead body lying in front of me.” she hissed.

“Then let’s do it.” Tom patted her shoulder and before she could walk away he took off his glasses and handed it to her. “Here. It makes you look like as a college student. It’s just glass so your eyes won’t get hurt.”

Liz smiled and left the apartment to finish an unfinished business with the murder or her mother.

Tonight she was going to kill Raymond Reddington and nothing could stop her.

**To be continued…**

**_P.s.: I’ll ask for beta’s help if you want a second chapter but first I wanted to test you guys if you’re interested or not (yes, I am_ ** **_very_ ** **_sceptic with my stories_ ** **_)_ ** **_. Sorry about my grammar mistakes._ **


	2. Devils and angles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your reviews/favorites/follows they made my awful days!  
> Truth be told I didn’t plan this chapter but I didn’t want to give you guys a long and boring second chapter but whenever I re-read it I couldn’t delete more words…  
> I’m still on beta-hunting but I couldn’t wait any longer with this chapter (it’s already written for three days) so all mistakes are mine! Sorry… :/  
> In this chapter Red finally visits the exhibition and while I was writing the scenes I searched for some photos to help myself and at the end I had a smaller collection so if you’d like to see these photos, click to this link:  
> http://bibitta007.tumblr.com/post/109695747472/exhibition-photos-for-chapter-two-of-game-set  
> You can also see the two particular photos which will be mentioned in this chapter.  
> The lyrics is ‘I am’ by Hilary Duff…the song isn’t really fitting to this chapter but the lyrics perfectly shows Liz and Red’s personality.  
> I hope a you’ll like it!

**_Previously:_ **

_“Then let’s do it.” Tom patted her shoulder and before she could walk away he took off his glasses and handed it to her. “Here. It makes you look like a college student. It’s just glass so your eyes won’t get hurt.”_

_Liz smiled and left the apartment to finish an unfinished business with the murder or her mother._

_Tonight she was going to kill Raymond Reddington and nothing could stop her._

**_###_ **

_“I'm an angel, I'm a devil_  
I am sometimes in between  
I'm as bad it can get  
And good as it can be  
Sometimes I'm a million colors  
Sometimes I'm black and white  
I am all extremes  
Try figure me out you never can  
There's so many things I am”

**_###_ **

“Are you sure you want to go alone?” Dembe asked his boss as Red was climbing up to the stairs of jet.

Red turned around when he was at the door and let out a deep sigh. “My friend, you’re so wimp sometimes. There won’t be any problem; I’m gonna fly to San Francisco, visit the exhibition, buy some photos if it’s possible and go back to the safe house.” he explained with his hands like he was putting invisible boxes next to each other in the air.

“What if Mr. Milhoan expects you to go there?”

“Even if he knows about this he can’t do with me anything. I know his dirty little secrets, remember? On the other hand, you have to go to Melbourne and speak with Luli. Tell her that I’m going to pay double if she helps me. And use your charm.” Red smirked as he tipped the rim of his dark grey fedora and closed the door behind him. He would need Luli’s help to find out where his money was and he knew that she wouldn’t resist Dembe’s almost irresistible gaze; Red had quickly learned that his bodyguard could really affect people with his big brown eyes and endlessly shooting voice.

**###**

Sixteen hours later, at half past six in the afternoon, finally, he was standing in front of the glass door of the exhibition that he had been waiting for a long time.

For a minute he took off his fedora and just stared the door with pounding heart; suddenly all the memories came up as Jessica had been taking the photos. It had been mesmerizing, seeing someone doing her job with elegancy and love; every time when Red had seen his best friend working he had wished that he could be just half talented as she and taken a picture which would have perfectly mirrored what he had seen in her eyes at that moment .

His heart clenched every time when the painful realization hit him; the destiny didn’t play fairly because that was the only rational reason of a talented young woman’s death whose little girl would never have the chance to know how wonderful her mother had been.

Red shook his head and stepped in; the place itself was quite modern and naturalistic; the black and white photos were hanging in front of the white walls while the lights were manipulated to cause semidarkness, which emphasized the contours of the pictures. However, Red wasn’t big fan of the modern style but he had to admit that this exhibition was organized by experts.

He was so affected by the photos; he almost didn’t notice a young lady who was standing a few meters away and barely took her eyes off of him.

Just almost.

He took a look on the girl who rapidly looked back to the picture in front of her and bit her lip to hide her smile and embarrassment. Lazily he let his eyes dancing on the features of his secret admirer; she could have been in her mid -twenties, she was wearing a dark navy blue embroidered tank top with white opened cardigan and hot pants which barely hid her mid-thighs. She had long, beautiful legs and her brown leather sandals let him following her curves to her ankles. He took a last trip on her from toes to her dark-brown, messy bun when he caught her head’s turning; she’d probably seen him staring her.

It wasn’t a full minute and she looked directly into his eyes from distance but even her black rimmed glasses and those meters between them didn’t matter because her laughing eyes filled the whole building and Red couldn’t help but smiled at her with his most charming way and slowly approached her.

###

When Reddington entered Liz’d been already there for forty-five minutes. It was somehow blessing because she had had enough time to lock up her feelings. She’d been only four when Jessica died but even her mind couldn’t give exact memories, whenever she thought about her mother, a warm feeling filled her heart and it felt like when her mother could have held her in her arms.

On the other hand Liz inherited her mother’s addiction for art; Liz loved fine-art and photography as much as the literature and cinematography. Her only personal things were, beside her half-burned, stuffed bunny, the collection of her favorite movies, music, paintings, books and, of course, photos which she kept at her house in Provence. The art was the reason why she had been a thief who’d robbed many accounts but only from bad people.

She was a weird lady version of Robin Hood.

She shook her head and turned her attention to the next photo where the young Captain America with big, probably blonde hair was standing in front the camera in a slightly V-necked, wolf T-shirt and John Lennon sunglasses. She couldn’t see what was in his hand but she bet a cigarette was hidden behind his palm. The boy was handsome and he knew it. As Liz was watching the picture, somehow this guy looked more and more familiar to her…she had seen this unique chin somewhere…

Before she could have been amused by herself a man stepped in. One of his hands in his pocket while the other took off the amber sunglasses as he paid for the ticket. He was wearing a grey vest with fitting dress pants and a bit darker fedora and crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

She had to admit that the Concierge of Crime was more impressive in real life than on pictures but also his body language screamed his smugness as he walked to one of the photos.

_“Okay, Liz, relax. You have to divert his attention to you…let him believe that he caught your gaze and you’re embarrassed! ... it’s working…oh, naughty boy, you would like to touch my leg, don’t you?”_ She bit her lip to hide her smirk _“Gain some sense, for God’s sake! You’re going to kill him, not fuck him! This bastard ruined your life! ...Am I seriously talking with myself as a second party? Oh, I have serious problems! God, he’s coming! Pretend that you’re blushing…”_ which was actually just half-pretended.

“I’m sorry but I couldn’t not see that a beautiful young lady was staring me and I’m wondering if I can be so opportunistic to assume that I caught her attention. But also my other theory is much more realistic.” he stopped for a moment and smiled at her but not just in a usual Raymond Reddington way but the style of Raymond- I-am-hot-as-hell-and-I-know-you-already-have-a-crush-on-me Reddington which always got women weak at their knees.

Liz actually felt a light trembling when she had heard his smooth and deep voice but also heard how satisfied he was with himself and that urged her to wipe the smugness off of him.

Maybe she was a bit sadistic but after ten seconds she had already decided that she would make him suffer before she would kill him but didn’t know which way; pain or pleasure…

_“Oh, you love hearing yourself, don’t you?” she thought._

“Which is?” she forced herself to smile back and it worked.

“That some ketchup remained on my face from lunch.” he chuckled and touched his cheek.

Now her laugh was everything but fake; somehow the bastard appeared friendly.

Maybe they could have been buddies if he wouldn’t have killed her mother.

“I’m sorry for staring you but you look so familiar. Did you know Jessica?” Liz asked.

“Yes, we were friends. Did you?”

“I wish, but no. She’d been dead before I was born. I’m writing my senior thesis about artists like Jessica Milhoan.”

“Her works haven’t been available for a long time then how did you actually come to know about Jessica?” he furrowed his brows as he clenched his hands in front of him and tilted his head.

“Actually I decided to write about her, too…” she paused to take a look on her wristwatch “Fifty minutes ago.” she said shyly like a young girl who was afraid of this big bad handsome man in front of her would laugh at her but he just shook his head while his amused yet still smiling eyes never left hers.

“Can I ask why?”

“First of all, I love black and white photos because it’s more difficult to find the perfect shades of these two colors and if you see a picture like this and it happened to be quite good that means the photo was taken by a really talented artist. And because her pictures make me oversensitive as I’m looking at them.” she replied immediately with little twinkling stars in her ocean blue eyes. “There’s a photo about a cat somewhere at a train station.” she pointed behind him “As I was just standing there and looking at the cat I could smell the light wind of spring as it brings the scent of flowers and oil from the station, feel how the rubbles moving under my feet, hear the whistle of the conductor, not to mention the cat!” she explained with excitement and wild gestures. She had always been this happy and pleased when somebody let her explain the experience that the art-pieces provided to her.

And Red was a good audience; a great philosopher had said once that someone was the most beautiful when she or he was talking about his/her addiction and right now this theory proved to be right.

There was a gorgeous young lady who may find him attractive and she was not just gorgeous but intelligent and sensitive. It was really rare nowadays, he thought.

At this point Red knew that his plan wouldn’t come true; when he had stalked her his intentions had been quite rare and instinctive; he’d wanted to take her bed but now he realized how sensitive and vulnerable she was, he couldn’t take an advantage of it.

Actually he hadn’t been with such a young woman like this lady and it somehow unnerved him. He was a confident man in his three piece suits but when it came to take them off…to be somehow vulnerable and literally exposed in front of a woman… Perhaps a young lover wouldn’t appreciate his scars and imperfection that Life tattooed on his skin.

She had been talking about how soft the fur of the cat could have been when she caught his eyes at her collarbone. “Uh, sorry. Sometimes I get a little carried away, and I can’t stop.” she blushed as she rubbed the nape of her neck.

“Oh, no, it’s pleasure to hear someone, who’s such an art-lover.” he lowered his voice as he said the last words and Liz couldn’t help but shivered. “I’m Kenneth, by the way.”

She shook his hand gently “Nice to meet you, Kenneth. I’m Audrey.”

At that moment Red noticed the colors on her right lower arm and looked at her questioningly “Is it a tattoo?”

“Uhm, yes.” she rolled up her thin cardigan and let him see the cherry blossom with two humming birds. She was seriously considering asking the guy to draw it with normal tattoo ink.

“What are they symbolizing to you?” he leaned closer but not too much; he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

“In Japanese culture cherry blossom is for celebrating life and love while the hummingbirds are the representation for freedom and joy. This is how I want to live my life; celebrating, be happy and be free. Do you have any tattoo?”

“Yes, actually. An anchor on my left upper arm. Did you know that in Chinese culture the blossoms are considered as a great sense of empowerment, sexual freedom and dominating as well?” he dropped his voice an octave lower. “So why did I catch your attention, Audrey?” he played dumb but his smirk was still on his face.

She blushed heavily but still smiled “Because I was watching this picture and I was wondering if you were the model.” she pointed to the picture in front of them.

Red turned his head and laughed heartily. “Oh, my God! Is it still exists?”

“So is it you?” Liz smirked at his reaction.

“Yes. Hard to believe, but it’s me at summer of ‘83. It was her housewarming party and I helped her to prepare.” he shook his head with amused disbelief; it was so hard to believe that he had been that young and carefree once. “Jessy was so excited that finally she had move out from her parents and she wanted to celebrate it properly but didn’t expect what would come.” when he saw her questioning eyes he deliberated if he should really tell this to her but finally he decided to continue. “She invited maybe ten or fifteen people so we didn’t plan a big party but it was hell of a night with a lot of alcohol and weed.” he chuckled. “Next morning I woke up in her bathtub without my shirt and long bloody lines on my chest.” he smirked mischievously.

_“Seriously, are you a kissing and telling type of guy?”_ she swallowed her annoyed sigh.

Red must have seen her face changing so he continued “It turns out that I threw her cat out of the window to the tree and after Jess started crying I climbed up for grabbing the cat who didn’t appreciate the idea so she caused the scratches on my chest.”

This was unexpected for Liz and the sudden image of the young Red who had woken up with scars on his chest, thinking about that he had slept with a sex goddess and then it’d turned out that only a little pet scratched him… She started laughing so hard and couldn’t stop for a whole minute. “I’m so sorry…I normally don’t laugh at people, I swear…” she breathed.

Red just stood there and admired this saucy creature whose laugh warmed his heart. He gave her a little close-mouthed smile and lowered his voice. “Don’t worry; if you allow me to hear you laughing I’m happily sharing all my awkward stories with you.” Okay, maybe he had decided that he was not going to fuck her but it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t want to impress her, just to feed his ego.

Liz frowned for a moment; there hadn’t been any man in her life who would have told such a beautiful compliment to her and didn’t know where to put it.

Here was the man who destroyed her whole life; killed her mother and forced her father to hide her away from a murder’s hands and yet in a weird way but she found him positively interesting. Of course his confidence and big ego made, almost forced her to punish him somehow and take the conceit out of him but also she caught herself actually enjoying his company.

She looked away to hide her burning cheeks and Red as a gentleman didn’t push her further so he changed the topic.

“Are you a photographer, too?”

“Uhm, yes. If everything goes well, I’m going to get my master degree at University of Northern Arizona.” she said proudly.

“Wow, how did you come here from Arizona?” he arched his eyebrow.

“With hitchhiking. I’m not so rich and all my money goes to my studies, to the sublet and food.” she counted on her fingers.

“Are you staying today in San Francisco?”

“No, I’m afraid, not. I don’t have money for needless expenses.” she sighed then rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t want to appear like a whining chick who’s mooching some dollars from a handsome stranger.” she froze when she realized that actually called Red handsome and when she saw his satisfied smirk she had to resist an other urge of hitting him hard.

Seriously, this guy needed a punishment!

“Then work for me to earn some money.” he offered simply and laughed when she shot a warning gaze toward him then he rose his hands “God, you have an awfully naughty mind! I wasn’t talking about _that_ kind of job!” seemingly he felt insulted but she was not going to apologize. “If you’re a photographer I assume you have photos and I, as a hopeless art-lover, intend to buy some of them - if they are on sail.”

“Unfortunately, I left my portfolio in Arizona…but I could show the digital version of them, if you have a computer or laptop” she offered.

_“That’s it, Liz! I’m going to save all the data from his computer to my pendrive while he won’t pay attention.”_

Red suspected for a moment that all of this was a lame trap and this girl didn’t want anything than kill or stick him up but she was so innocent and feminine…all he could see was the angle in her so at the end he nodded. “Let’s see the other photos and then we could go back to my house.”

Liz smirked. _“Oh, honey, you’re in my web and you don’t have the slightest clue about that.”_

**To be continued…**

**Well, what do you think? :)**


	3. Milhoan vs. Reddington 1-0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta, Alysha for helping me out! :)  
> As I promised I made a collection from ‘Lizzie’s pictures’, if you’d like to see them, just open this link:  
> http://bibitta007.tumblr.com/post/110247290572/these-are-the-photos-for-lizzie-in-the-third  
> I don’t own anything!

**3\. Reddington vs. Milhoan 1-0**

**_Previously:_ **

Red suspected for a moment that all of this was a lame trap and this girl didn’t want anything more than to kill or stick him up but she was so innocent and feminine…all he could see was the angle in her so at the end he nodded. “Let’s see the other photos and then we could go back to my house.”

Liz smirked. _“Oh, honey, you’re in my web and you don’t have the slightest clue about that.”_

 

**_###_ **

Of course, Red wasn’t a complete idiot and from the beginning he assumed that something wasn’t right with Audrey; she was too good for him, Red thought.

He asked many special questions about photography and other cultural topics that she had brought up, just to test if she was really interested or she had just read his love for art in his report and looked through the Wikipedia for the main information, just to fool him.

But no, she really loved arts that much.

And, on the other hand, not every woman in his life was a criminal; how dangerous it was, he still loved going to a bar and seducing a beautiful lady to his bed – he always made clear that he didn’t want anything, just to spend a wonderful night with her and leaving in the morning. Of course, many women turned him down, which was reasonable, but those who liked this side of love, agreed and went to a hotel room with him. And of course, Red had took a great care about his casual lovers to not feel used but worshipped all night.

They spent two hours there; Red was talking about the photos and Jessica with excitement with which Liz listened to happily because her father never talked about her mother in a way like Red, and he most definitely didn’t share funny stories about her either.

When they were walking back to his safe house Liz finally asked the particular question that had unnerved her since he had started talking about Jessica. “Can I ask something personal?”

“Yes.” he nodded cautiously.

“Were you in love with Jessica?”

He bit inside of his cheek as he opened the door of the safe house. “No, I wasn’t. But I loved her unconditionally. She was my only best friend over the years and I loved her like she would have been my sister,” he said with pain in his eyes. Liz realized that his pain was real but she assumed it came from his guilt.

 _“And yet you killed her!”_ She felt as anger rose inside of her but taking deep breaths calmed her down significantly enough to continue.

In the meantime Red looked around in the kitchen cabinet and found a bottle of Merlot. He took out two glasses and filled them with crimson liquor while Liz sat on the stool, looking at him. From the corner of his eyes Red saw that an odd item with fluid was in her bag when this particular bag almost fell down from the kitchen counter. He seemed calm and collected, like a hunter who was waiting for the perfect moment to shoot the deer down.

She took her glass, “maybe it sounds stupid, but what kind of wine is this?”

“It’s Merlot. High quality.” He inhaled the scent of his wine. “Why?”

“I have a special allergy to one of the ingredients in cheaper wines. It’s pretty serious, I got a rare form of anaphylactic shock and it can kill me within three minutes. When it was found out I almost died actually, but since then I always have a syringe of ‘drug cocktail’ in my bag.” she showed the item and continued. “So if I get a shock, just stab me with this on the thigh.”

Of course it was a big fat lie, but she wanted to be sure that if she went out of the bathroom and Red checked her bag he wouldn’t find anything suspicious.

Because seriously; what killer would show her weapon to the victim when he didn’t even suspect anything?

Inverse logic.

And she could thank her lucky stars because now Red wasn’t that cautious with her like before.

She took a long sip before she suddenly changed the topic “I read that she died in a fire. It’s horrible when you lose someone you love.” She buried her gaze into the wine instead of his eyes.

“I assume you know this feeling. Did you lose somebody, too?” Red asked and led her toward the living room which was in the same area as the bedroom; it was a small apartment but Red chose this because it was easier handling the security alone and it had a special palpable aura from the books and the lights.

It was calming yet exciting; the special moment when a feeling of peacefulness possessing you but your heart just beats a bit faster and warming memories fill you.

They sat close to each other on the couch, their thighs were brushing but he tried to hide his growing attraction toward her which was growing less and less possible.

She was young, beautiful and intelligent and he was…well, he was quite horny. Since he hadn’t appeared in Florence two months ago to be with Madeline he hadn’t had any woman around him who could satisfy his needs. The bastard Sam Milhoan caused a lot of trouble so he hadn’t done anything day after day than get up early, clean the mess and sleep a few hours before it started from the beginning.

The promise he made at the exhibition was getting weaker since he had smelled her delicious perfume mixed with some unique scent. He barely resisted the urge to pin her down and have his wicked way with her.

He shook his head and opened the laptop he put on the coffee table to let Lizzie handle the rest, because he wasn’t such a talented geek; his knowledge about machines ended up at his Italian coffee maker.

“Yes, but it wasn’t like that. I just broke up with my boyfriend after four years.” Her lies came pretty easily, she admitted as she opened the files and stopped for a moment. “Not the breaking up felt like losing him but the long way to the point when I realized what was happening around me. And when somebody just lies next to you in bed but you feel like he’s already miles away…of course it’s not like your pain but it is not easy either when…” she shook her head and showed her pictures to him, avoiding the topic because she wasn’t sure what she ought to answer if he would ask something; she was good creating stories but not that good to speak about experiences and feelings she never had. “So, these are the best, I think.” When Red didn’t react, she turned her head and saw him watching her with empathy in his eyes. He understood her, but Liz didn’t know why.

Seriously, she started feeling guilty for fooling him and had to remind herself almost every second that this man was responsible for all the horrible things. He was a murder who killed his own best friend in cold blood and ready to end an innocent four years olds life as well.

But how could a devil look at her like an angel who had been deprived of his wings and extruded from Heaven to live somewhere between life and death?

Red didn’t push her further so he just silently looked at the screen and admired the pictures in front of him; abandoned houses, horses, dogs, a broken piano – it seemed so simple. But behind the object of the photos she caught the soul of them, even if it was a ruined stuffed teddy bear.

“Audrey, they’re amazing! You perfectly found the very meaning of the topics.” He tilted his head when he saw a naked woman’s feature at the screen. His head shot up and crooked his eyebrow but Liz just shrugged, smiling mischievously.

“Once I walked on my roommate when she stepped out of the shower and she was looking out of the window…it would have been a sin if I hadn’t taken the opportunity.” She giggled. “And before you ask; I’m not sexually attracted to women. I just see a woman’s beauty in the eyes of a photographer but if I want to be honest, I love male models.” She said seductively and happily noted that Red understood the hint and smirked at her.

At that moment the ground started moving under them; it wasn’t a big earthquake, an almost everyday thing in San Francisco but it was big enough to kill all the electricity and for Liz to accidently spill her wine on Red’s shirt. This time it really was just an accident. “Dammit, I’m sorry Kenneth!” Both of them jumped from their seats and Red hurried to the kitchen to pick up a napkin but it didn’t help. Liz followed him after she rapidly hit the “copy” button on the laptop so all his data started wandering to her pendrive. She had luck because the laptop’s battery was going to work for more than six hours.

“It’s not a big deal, I actually have more than enough shirts.” He chuckled but still he wanted to save this one.

“Take it off,” she said hurriedly.

Red stopped his hand and slowly raised his head with arched eyebrow.

“Now who has the dirty mind?” she shook her head. “Take it off so I can wash it in the sink,” she said under her eyelids.

_Seducing state: on._

Red grinned and slowly, one by one, opened his shirt while his eyes were watching hers as she followed his hands with her hungry gaze.

The man knew how to undress properly, she thought and unconsciously licked her lips but suddenly she returned to his face which was more smug than ever.

Red slowly shook the material off of his shoulder and handed it to Liz who had time not to stare at his half-naked form openly.

She quickly turned around and opened the tap to wash his shirt while he went to his luggage to take out another shirt. At that moment Liz saw something she didn’t know; Raymond Reddington had a complete topography of scars on his back. As the last crimson and orange shines of the sun read his back she perfectly saw it which started at waist and ended at the base of his neck.

She dropped the wet shirt and silently approached him and Red hadn’t realized her proximity until she gasped behind him. He turned around and a moment later he understood her.

“Sorry for seeing my back. Sometimes I easily forget about my scars.” He growled and took on his white shirt with light blue strips but didn’t button up.

“Ho-how did you get them?” Her voice soft and calm because she knew; it was time.

Time for confront then kill him.

“In the only heroic situation of my life.”

 _“Was it heroic to kill my mother, you sonofabitch??!!”_ She felt the anger rising up in her chest.

“What was that situation?” She turned around to search for the syringe and she was ready to attack but his next sentence stopped her.

“I saved a four year old girl from a fire.” He went back to fill her glass with Merlot and brought it to her. Liz threw back the syringe and took the wine, “here.” He handed her then continued, “I saw the flames and ran into the house. I was about to bring the girl out but something collapsed on my back and my shirt caught fire. I had enough strength to go to the street with her in my arms but when I took her down I fainted and didn’t have the chance to save her mother.” He said with thickness in his voice.

Even without sharing names Liz knew that he was talking about her.

But how? And when? And why?

Why did her dad lie to her? Did he even know about this?

One thing was sure; she couldn’t kill him until she knew the truth because she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she killed an innocent man.

“I shouldn’t have told you this. Can we drop this topic? We had such a great time before this conversation,” he dropped his tone an octave lower.

She couldn’t believe how a man could turn from emotionally overwhelmed to a self-confident bastard!

She would never admit to herself but she always had a thing for confident and powerful men.

Because nothing could beat the feeling when you brought a smug bastard like Raymond Reddington to his knees.

At that moment Tom’s voice had been ringing in her head about the syringe. _“if you just give him half he’ll take a long nap and it won’t kill him.”_

Time to have some fun, she smirked.

She picked up her bag then turned around to walk to the bedroom with swinging hips because the sunset was weaker and it lighted that place the most. The features of the furniture were the most visible there; a king sized bed, two nightstands, a wardrobe and many bookshelves.

She felt Red’s hungry gaze on her ass and her mind already started creating the greatest punishments.

Her senses were right because Red couldn’t divert his attention from her well-shaped legs as the sunshine, like a gentle orange blanket enveloped her creamy skin. He lazily followed her as he buttoned up half of his shirt.

Liz tossed her bag to the bed next to her and sat at the edge of it while Red climbed to the centrum and rested his back against the headboard, waiting for her to start make a move but she just stared out of the window, hugging her knees to her chest.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked quietly and finished his wine with one last gulp and placed the glass to the nightstand.

“Don’t laugh at me but I have a list; it’s a kind of bucket-list. All the things that I want to do before I die and today two already came true…” she almost whispered, still looking the sunset. “…And here I am, sitting in the middle of a bed with a man who I’ve known for less than a day and…” she stopped and smiled shyly.

“And?” he urged her gently.

She slowly looked at him through her eyelids and after a moment she slowly crawled closer and lazily put her leg to the other side, straddling him, but she didn’t lower herself just yet.

Not yet.

She was brave and a bit impatient because they had been waltzing around each other the whole time.

###

Red sucked the air; it was too sudden to prepare himself physically and he couldn’t help that it aroused him.

Her hands lingered on his shirt and soon find the way under it, caressing his soft skin.

“Audrey…” he warned her but his voice was low and hoarse.

This was new for Liz; the feeling of getting hot and bothered by somebody’s voice…as much as she tried she couldn’t slow down her pounding heart and Red knew perfectly well what kind of effect he had on her because the pumping artery at her neck betrayed her. He ran his hands on the length of her thighs as he leaned then brushed his slightly stubbly chin against her throbbing pulse point and whispered into her ear; “Don’t start something you can’t or won’t finish,” he growled and smirked when he felt her shivering.

Seriously, what was wrong with her?! No man on Earth had made her powerless like Red and he hadn’t even done anything but talked to her! What could have possibly happened if he…

 _“No! Don’t even think about that, Liz! Because he saved a four year old child it doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t be guilty! That’s why you need to read all the information from his laptop! Do. Not. Fuck. Him! Okay, maybe you can play with him a little.”_ She smirked and finally with a slow but firm push she sat on his swelling groin.

“Who said I don’t want to?” She smirked mischievously and with tiny thrusts she rubbed herself against him. “So my list includes two points…” she gasped as she felt her own desire pooling her belly. “Sleeping with a man who is minimum ten years older than me…” she smiled when she felt his fingers tightening on her hips to keep her still but she didn’t obey and continued more roughly when Red let out a deep groan. “And having a one-night stand,” she finished and slowly kissed his neck; his skin was hot and soft and smelled heavenly.

She knew that after her body would calm down she would feel like a whore who sold her body to the devil…but right now she didn’t care at all.

“So am I just a one-night stand to you?” He tried to appear hurt, but secretly her answer satisfied him very much.

“Oh please, don’t tell me that you were already thinking about our wedding day,” she murmured and opened his shirt for better access with her hands; he wasn’t in perfect shape but he wasn’t bad either, considering his age he looked quite sexy. “You wanted to have your way with me since you saw my legs at the exhibition.”

“Audrey...if you want to change your mind then do it now because after a minute I’ll be anything but a gentleman,” he warned her once more but his hands were already roaming around under her top, caressing the underside of her bra with his thumbs.

She kissed her way up to his ear and bit his earlobe “I don’t want you to be gentle, or a man. I want you to be the animal that approached me at the exhibition. I want you to be a hungry lion, chasing his prey…are you ready to attack, Raymond?” she sucked in a gasp the moment his real name slipped out of her mouth and felt him froze under her.

“What did you call me?” He withdrew to search her eyes but at that moment he felt a stitching pain at his neck. He looked at her proudly grinning face, holding a syringe in her right hand then Red slipped unconsciousness.

At that moment a thought struck her as she took a look at Red; the lights…his body…her aroused state… she got great inspiration so she picked up her camera from her bag and did some compromising art photos about the Concierge of Crime. Hell, she even dressed him in an opened vest in a damn picture!

After taken care of his special punishment she rapidly collected her things, placed her trademark, then left.

###

When Dembe opened the door the following morning, everything looked normal, nothing was missing. He went to the kitchen to make himself a mug of coffee when somebody cleared his throat from the distance.

Instinctively he grabbed his gun from the holster and turned around but he wasn’t prepared for what he saw. He lowered his gun and slowly approached the bed while he tried to hide his smirk with faking coughing. He cleared his throat and collected all his willpower not to burst out laughing. “Rough night?” He asked his naked boss who was chained up with both hands to the headrest, only a crimson cushion hid his manhood.

“Oh, shut up.” Red snapped. He had been up for an hour but his anger hadn’t diminished. He would leave no stone unturned to find that saucy little minx and teach her a good lesson! “Is Luli here?”

“She is waiting in the car.” He couldn’t hide his smirk.

“Send her up.”

“Why?”

Red rolled his eyes. “Because I don’t want you to pick up the key from under the pillow.” He pointed with his head to the pillow in front of his groin.

“Not even if you would pay for it.” he murmured as he turned around and left the house.

“I heard it!” Red shouted.

“Good.” He shouted back.

###

After Luli had amused him with his unlucky situation and released him, Red went to the bathroom to take a long shower; before he had stepped in he noticed a red stain where his left thigh and hipbone met, dangerously close to his sensitive parts.

It was a mark of carmine red lips and couldn’t help but imagine her luscious lips dangerously close to his groin.

“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea what you have started,” he laughed heavily and stepped under the shower, fantasizing about those naughty lips, moving a few inches to East.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you recognize that movie scene? It was from the Sherlock movie when Rachel McAdams chained Robert Downey Jr. up. :D  
> Ah yes, unfortunately I didn’t find any shirtless photos about Mr. Spader in his forties or fifties (which is a big shame) and I couldn’t make them myself (bigger shame! :D) so I made a ‘photomontage’ for the scene where Liz made really compromising photos about the naked Red:  
> http://bibitta007.tumblr.com/post/110246707562/this-is-a-photomontage-about-red-and-one-picture  
> Special thanks to Hestia-Prytaneum for helping me out with great advices! :)  
> So what do you think guys? Does she deserve a good spanking from Red?


	4. Provence Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I owe with a BIG thank you to Alysha for beta-ing this chapter! ^_^
> 
> In this chapter there will be a great song mentioned “L’enfer et moi” by Amandine Bourgeois and also I will talk about the photomontage that Liz made about the naked Red and you can find it here:  
> http://bibitta007.tumblr.com/post/110246707562/this-is-a-photomontage-about-red-and-one-picture
> 
> Be aware, this chapter contains some M-rated scene!!!!
> 
> Hope you’ll like it! :)

**_ Previously: _ **

_It was a mark of carmine red lips and he couldn’t help but imagine her luscious lips dangerously close to his groin._

_“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea what you have started,” he laughed heavily and stepped under the shower, fantasizing about those naughty lips, moving a few inches to East._

**_###_ **

“So if I see the situation right…Reddington is still alive.” Tom rubbed the bridge of his nose with closed eyes.

“Yes.” Lizzie shrugged and took a big bite from her croissant.

It was still early, the sun just blinked tiredly at the sky but this part of the day was her favorite; times like this she just sat down at the balcony and watched as the first light of the sun caressed the chilly air and danced with the water drops on the grape leaves…it was like a wild acid hallucination where the whole vineyard came alive and the grapes were speaking with each other in color-language.

“Liz, are you listening?!” Tom’s harsh voice brought her back.

“What? Yes, sorry.” How could he demand her attention when this morning was crawling into her beloved lap of Provence?

It was the only place she felt herself truly at home; in this little vineyard with the old-fashioned, dirty-yellow house with two storage walls which had barely stood when she had found this secret haven. This was her only property, her only material love. She had renewed it with her own hands after she had bought from the previous owner but Liz had had no earthly idea what she could do and how she would take care of the grapes. Much for her luck, the owner knew a winemaker who lived on the next yard with his wife in a smaller house, and they happily stayed to continue their life with Liz.

This man, August, taught her many things about wines, and more about Provence. He taught the secret life of the fruit and he truly believed that it had a soul; many times she caught her old friend talking to the grapevines.

Truth be told Liz was jealous; jealous of him because she knew she would never feel the way he did. Because this feeling you simply could not learn; if it wasn’t in your veins as you took your first breath in this world, then you would never feel it.

August was born to be take care of the vineyard and she was born to justify her mother’s death.

She was about to accomplish her job when suddenly Life showed her a little, almost tiny detail, which had saved her from a dead-end road.

She had met with Reddington. The infuriating, cheeky bastard who had appeared in her life as the murderer of her mother but also the savior of her life.

Of course it hadn’t changed the fact that he was an infuriating and cheeky bastard who knew perfectly well how hot he actually was.

Raymond…Reddington…maybe the most delicious alliteration that she had ever tasted.

If she separated the first three letters of his last name she got his very telling nickname;

 _Red_ …

Just like the Mourvedre of this vineyard; mostly dry but the tip of your tongue drowned into something sweet, almost intoxicatingly, illegally sweet. A fine, full-bodied wine with character and deliciously alcoholic after years of ageing that provided the smoothness to this taste-compose.

Maybe that was the reason why she couldn’t stop thinking about him after she had left him tied up; because Red knocked her off of her feet and made her drunk with the sure knowledge that she could not taste him again and never get him.

He was her forbidden fruit. The original sin.

The Devil himself.

No one tempted her this way…well, normally she always got what she wanted but as Mick Jagger sang; _You can’t always get what you want._

“ELIZABETH!”

She almost jumped from her seat, “WHAT?”

“Focus, for God’s sake! How can you be so calm?” Tom suddenly stood from his seat and started walking back and forth in front of her.

“I don’t understand why you’re so whiny during this beautiful morning.” She grinned and inhaled the sweet earthy air.

“Why? WHY? Because you didn’t do your damn job! You just used and humiliated Raymond Reddington who won’t rest until he finds you, sweetheart! And if he finds you, he finds me as well.” He almost yelled and Liz was seriously afraid that he would get a stroke in the next minute.

“Calm down Tom! Seriously you’re worse than my father.”

“Oh, yes. Thanks for reminding me that if Reddington doesn’t kill me, then Sam Milhoan will.” He spitted sarcastically and put his hands to his hips, looking at the ground and raising his gaze only when he was talking to her. “How could you leave him alive anyway?” Of course, Liz hadn’t told him the real reason and it wasn’t her intention to; Life taught her early on that she couldn’t trust anyone except herself. It was her mission, her cross to bear.

“It’s none of your business.” She answered with a cold gaze and leaned back in her chair.

“You’re right. It’s not. But don’t expect me to save you if he finds you.” He warned her.

“He won’t. This place is not even on the map. He won’t find me.”

“Don’t be so naïve.” His anger diminished greatly so he sat down next to her, quite seriously. “Liz, we’re talking about the Concierge of Crime! No matter what, he would come after you and when he finds you – he will kill you with no mercy. You’re the daughter of his greatest enemy AND you stole data from his computer!” Tom felt like he was talking to a little girl who didn’t understand why she shouldn’t play with fire.

“The information is worth, maybe, ten thousand dollars, so what? It’s just a pocket money for him.” Liz shrugged casually and sipped her coffee. She was really lucky that she hadn’t mentioned that she actually had left him tied to the bed in his birthday suit and her trademark on his thigh; because if Tom knew that he would surely get a heart attack.

“You don’t understand it, do you?” He asked with disbelief. “Liz, it’s not the point that the loss of this money doesn’t change his life but the fact that you were able to steal something from him! It screams for revenge and he won’t stop until he gets it. You can’t hide, you can’t run; sooner or later, he will find you.” His voice was small but thick with fear.

“Tom, calm down, please. He won’t kill me because…because he wants answers that he can get only with me.”

“What answers?” He furrowed his brows.

“Why I didn’t kill him and why I stole the information from him.” _And why I left him tied up naked_ , she added in her head then continued, “Reddington is the kind of man who desperately wants answers and as you said he won’t stop until he gets them.”

“But…” Tom wanted to argue further but Liz stopped him with her raising hand.

“No, Tom. This conversation is over. If you want to cop out, then do it now and leave. He doesn’t know about you so if this risk is too much for you…” She never finished the sentence, instead she waited for his reaction.

“I’m sorry, Liz.” He whispered as he cupped her cheek “This…”

“Leave. Now.” She demanded, mentally reminding herself that Liz could only rely on her own loyalty and her very own self.

Tom stood up and kissed her forehead, but she withdrew the moment his lips touched her skin like they had been on fire. He sighed, then like a beaten up dog, he left.

**_…Two weeks later…_ **

Dembe seriously worried about his boss.

After that incident in San Francisco, Red found a new obsession; no matter what, he wanted to find this mysterious girl who had given him a good lesson and as if it wouldn’t have been enough, she stole some really important information from his laptop. For someone who didn’t know the exact details those files were useless but to the one who knew the existence of the Fulcrum, it’s worth millions. First Red assumed that Elizabeth had stolen it for her father, but two days later he found out that Sam didn’t even know that his innocent little girl, who maybe stole sometimes, was actually the Kisser, the ninth most wanted person in the world.

So the thought struck Red; why had she robbed him and left him alive? After that particular night Red had tested his blood in case she put something toxic into that syringe. Turns out that she could easily killed him with a slightly larger dose…maybe she was as stubborn to find the answers about the past as Red?

And there was how she had left him…naked with her trademark on his body and not just on his neck or forehead, oh no; she kissed him close to his most sensitive parts after she had disrobed him. As much as he tried not to think about that, whenever he closed his eyes he saw this saucy minx with dilated pupils, breathe hitched as her body bathed in desire.

Maybe lust was the only thing that people couldn’t pretend; that woman in his lap had been as turned on as he.

Getting aroused without satisfaction and not getting what he wanted was maybe the only thing that Raymond Reddington hadn’t experienced yet.

But this Sweetheart showed him well and he was a man who hadn’t afforded anything without giving back something equally generous…so when he found her she will get one hell of a spanking from him!

Tracking her down was actually harder than he had first imagined; she really was a talented criminal, he thought. Smart and tricky enough to disappear from his sight for fourteen days which was quite good, according to her age.

Truth be told Red had thought earlier that she was on the FBI’s list because she was the inheritor of her father’s legacy. However her career was independent from her fathers, which made more sense after Red saw that Liz and Sam’s relationship was anything but close and deep.

Maybe that was why she was spending the holiday alone in this old-fashioned house. Because she was lonely and couldn’t build a normal relationship with anyone, just like Raymond.

The moon was already hanging when Red stepped into the house that welcomed him with emptiness. If he wanted to be honest, it was better this way because he wanted to take a short tour of the house before he accomplishes his evil plan. It was actually quite nice and cozy; the modern culture mixed with classic designs, some Provence patterns here and there.

After taking a look downstairs he climbed up on the old, creaky stairs and with a devilish smirk he stepped into her bedroom. The huge windows were open and the spicy air filled the room as the moonlight rested on the queen sized bed covered in white sheets. Between the bed and the door of the balcony, an old-fashioned dressing screen stood with a beautiful silk bathrobe on its top with crimson and orange ornamental figures stood in the corner; for a moment he imagined her taking it off while he was sitting on that robust armchair at the opposite side of the room, next to the bed…he shook his head and continued studying the room. The wall in front of the bed was covered with many pictures, mostly hers, except one; an old photo about a girl with her cat…it was Rebeca’s last photo of her daughter.

Taking a deep breath he moved on because he knew Liz would return in any minute and he didn’t want to meet her just yet.

There was a big easel covered with a robe and Red was about to take it off to admire what was under when he had heard the stairs creaking under someone’s weight. As fast as he could he walked toward the door but it was too late; Liz was already on the second floor landing and was heading to her bedroom, focused on her phone – much for his luck.

The only hiding place was a big wardrobe that he almost jumped in when Liz stepped into the room. Luckily the wardrobe had shutters so Red could follow her with his gaze. She was still lost in her device; she didn’t even take off her eyes of the phone as she dropped her bag to the bed.

He was so mad at her and yet he couldn’t stop admiring her beauty, especially now when Liz was wearing a thin, white casual dress with a baby blue shawl around her shoulders. After she finished typing she replaced it with a glass of red wine but soon changed her mind.

Without taking a sip she took the wine own and went behind the dressing screen. Soon the bathrobe disappeared and a white casual dress rested there instead. When Liz walked back to her wine Red almost forgot to breathe; the bathrobe was hanging loosely around her upper arms and barely hid her bosom. With a perfect bun her hair was caught at the top of her head so he had better access to memorize every inch of her.

She turned the turntable on and soon Red recognized that it was the French song from the Eurovision 2013; _L’enfer et moi –_ if he remembered correctly.

Liz slowly turned around and with a hint of lust in her eyes she walked to the easel and the robe fell down to the floor. Red couldn’t see the picture from his position but he did see the satisfaction on her face as she bit her lower lip and her hand slowly grazed the picture. He didn’t know how or why but that little evil smile at the corner of her lips, the swinging of her hips as she walked back to the bed, woke the beast in him and tempted a tango with her. Her naked left leg above the right as she sat down was only fuel for the fire.

She still hadn’t taken her eyes off of the picture…it was clear that she was satisfied with it, she probably made it. When the last finger of wine disappeared, Liz turned off the turntable and walked back to the bed to crawl under the sheets – he was guessing here because that corner was invisible for him.

After an excruciating hour of standing in the cramped closet, he slowly escaped from his hidden place and stepped into the middle of the room. Instead of looking at the sleeping form in the bed, his curiosity turned him around and suddenly he had to swallow the gasp that almost escaped him.

The big picture was actually a photomontage; naked chest, curve of a neck, wrist, calf, lips – all the parts of the body belonged to him, Red was the model! She must have taken them while he had been knocked out but it didn’t help much for his angry and turned on state because as he thought back how she had admired, how she had touched the photos, and those particular photos…no woman worshipped his body as Liz did with these photos

But that wasn’t the point, he almost shouted at himself, the point was that she had taken advantage of him!

He slowly turned around and approached the bed but soon realized from the bathrobe on the armchair and her naked back, that she wasn’t wearing anything and only that thin sheet hid her waist…oh God, he had to take a few calming breaths to remain professional.

But it just did. Not. Work.

The beast freed himself in Red and the sexual frustration tensed him and teased his sadistic side to make her pay in being equally sexually frustrated, plus interest. He slowly took off his vest and rolled up his sleeves as he walked down to the kitchen to grab the necessary torture items that he needed and then headed back to her room.

He took out the gifts she had left on his wrists two weeks ago and cautiously placed them to hers, much for his luck she was still laying on her belly, arms either side of her head so chaining her up was easier than he had previously thought.

Red drank some of his wine he had poured and took an ice cube between his teeth as he lazily straddled her waist, paying attention not to press down too painfully, and soon he was on his hands and knees above her as he slowly slid the ice down her spine from the base of her neck to her tailbone where the white sheets covered the rest of her.

He continued travelling with the ice cube on her soft skin until he heard her soft protesting moan, with a chuckle he smashed the small cube with his teeth then swallowed down. Liz was still not awake so he treated the skin behind her ear with his now cold lips.

“Mmm…Francis? I told you not to come here anymore,” she growled as she moved to change the position of her hands.

“Not quite my dear.” Red chuckled again as he couldn’t stop caressing her soft skin on her back and side, dangerously close to her breasts.

“What the…” Liz panicked and wanted to get up immediately but his hand on her throat and the handcuffs on her wrists stopped her. Waking up like this would normally scare the hell out of her but she was too caught up in Red’s game to be worried. She was excited in oh, so many ways.

“Oh, no. We don’t want you to get hurt now, do we?” He leaned close to her ear as he gently held her throat and all of sudden Liz imagined that hand holding her a bit firmer as he roughly fu…

“Let me go!” She hissed and tried to push him off of her but with his weight and her precarious position, it was useless.

“Why would I do that, Audrey? Or would you prefer Elizabeth? Or the Kisser? Take your pick sweetheart.” His voice was incredibly low and he had hard time diverting all the blood from his other active body part, but it was getting worse as she was still stirring under him, grinding her ass against him.

Oh, Liz was aware of the effect she had on him and tried to divert his attention, but of course it didn’t help. She couldn’t help but moan as heat pooled in her belly as his masculine scent hit her nose, his lip lingering on her naked skin.

“How does it feel? Beaten by a woman half of your age?” She grinned as she felt him tensing and his hand tightened around her throat, not painfully.

“Do you really think, angering me is a good idea?”

“Oh, yes! Because it doesn’t matter how angry you are right now, you can’t change the past and you definitely can’t change the fact that I actually fooled the great Raymond Reddington.” She answered cheekily, provoking him into action. If he was angry he would make a mistake and she could turn the tables…and a tiny part of her was curious to be under the furious Reddington’s mercy. Somehow she didn’t think he would hurt her nor do something painful because one thing was sure about him, he was a real gentleman who would never hurt a lady…

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

“Ahhh!” Liz cried out loudly as the first three whips hit her naked butt; _not hurting a lady my ass_!

While she was daydreaming Red slowly took away her sheets and rested himself on his elbow next to her as he slapped her.

“Oh, Lizzie, you’re very naughty girl and I think you deserve a good lesson, shall we?” He caressed the reddening skin on her right ass cheek.

“Go to…” She couldn’t finish because another slap shut her up.

“ _Language_ , Lizzie.” He smirked at her. Oh he was going to enjoy this!

“Don’t dare call me Lizzie or I swear to God…ah!” Another slap, harder this time.

Why was he so sadistic? And why was she enjoying this so much?

“Why don’t you learn from your mistakes… _Lizzie_?” He almost purred, searching for any and every reaction on her face and when she tried to look away he remunerated her with five constant smacks. “Don’t look away when I’m speaking to you.” He tilted his head and Liz couldn’t help but silently obey as she turned her watery eyes back to his.

“Oh, no, no need for those nasty tears.” Red shook his head and wiped away the only drop from her cheek; for a minute he seriously considered that she was terrified of him in a wrong way, but when she rolled her eyes and tried to break the headrest to free her wrists he chuckled again. “So, where to start…” He brought his index finger to his chin, pondering. “Ah, yes. Where is the pendrive?”

“What are you talking about?” She asked innocently but her ‘reward’ was a big slap on her left ass cheek.

“Don’t play stupid, you’re far from that.” He said with a dead cold tone. He was losing his patience. “Where is it?”

“I’m not going to tell you.” She stated.

“Well then…” Ten firm strikes followed these two little words.

Liz was panting and the ache between her legs was getting almost unbearable. She hadn’t tried this form of foreplay before and didn’t know if it would work with other men, but now…totally under this man’s mercy… the mere thought turned her on to no end and she couldn’t help but unconsciously rub her thighs together to get some friction.

He must have sensed her arousal as an evil smirk appeared on his face. “Oh, so you love this kind of torture.” He lazily straddled her again as his right hand slipped between the sheets and her torso and slowly made its way down to her right breast where a peaked nipple welcomed his fingers. Hiding his swelling groin was harder and harder (…and yes, pun intended!) and hearing her barely controlled moan escaping her lips as he gently pinched her nipple made his cock twitch. He leaned close to her ear and dropped his voice low, the way she liked:

“Tell me what I want to know and you’ll get what you want.”

Now she was in real trouble!

**To be continued…**

**Well, what do you think guys? :) Truth be told I’ve never written spanking scene before and I don’t really know if it’s good or bad. *blushing* All reviews appreciated! *hu** **gs***


	5. Night of the changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating the new chapter for so long but RL…*sigh*  
> Thank you guys for all the reviews, feedbacks and Happy Easter to everyone!  
> Special thank you to Alysha, for beta-ing this chapter! You’re the best! :)

_Previously:_

_He must have sensed her arousal as an evil smirk appeared on his face. “Oh, so you love this kind of torture.” He lazily straddled her again as his right hand slipped between the sheets and her torso and slowly made its way down to her right breast where a peaked nipple welcomed his fingers. Hiding his swelling groin was harder and harder (…and yes, pun intended!) and hearing her barely controlled moan escaping her lips as he gently pinched her nipple made his cock twitch. He leaned close to her ear and dropped his voice low, the way she liked:_

_“Tell me what I want to know and you’ll get what you want.”_

_Now she was in real trouble!_

###

Lizzie seriously considered giving everything to this man if he was going to continue his sweet assault on her body but then the stubborn she-devil shouted in her.

“You don’t know what I want,” she chuckled throatily, biting her lower lip hard as she felt him tracing his nose along her spine, from neck towaist where he inhaled the sweet and unique scent of her arousal.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m well aware of your wants.” He growled as he slipped lower, treating her still red and throbbing ass with open-mouthed kisses while his hand found its way to her left inner-thigh, avoiding the throbbing sweet spot of her body. “You want to find who killed your mother but first I think we should pay attention to the _actual_ wants, shall we?” He asked as he returned to speak directly into her ear.

He tried to hold himself back incase she didn’t like the idea of his erotic torture. Playing this game was risky because if Lizzie wasn’t even sexually attracted to him – which he highly doubted – she could protest. Raymond Reddington may be a monster but he was not a rapist.

But much for his luck Lizzie hadn’t even tried to shy away from his hands or say no or scream or do whatever. Actually, he noticed her inner war to keep herself from giving up her self-control.

“Do what you want; I’m not going to tell you where the pendrive is, even if you beat me to death.” She whispered,her aroused state reached that particular point where she wasn’t even sure she could speak properly.

“Hit a woman? Hell, no!” He protested “I haven’t hit any woman with force and I definitely won’t start now. No, there are so many ways totorture.”

God, did he have to drop his voice this low?

Of course the bastard was aware of the fact that his voice could speak almost every woman into action. She desperately tried to shut out that honey and whisky voice from her head that tempted her to let the animalistic wants prevail.

“When somebody hears _torture_ they immediately think about a man with bruises and wounds who can barely stand on his feet. I, as an expert of torture, am rather fond of the kind where the endurer feels it in the most pleasurable way and I only use it in cases of women, mainly when these ladies are lying under me in their naked glory.” He traced the tip of his fingers alongher back like a pianist. “Speaking of naked; next time you don’t have to leave the mark of your pretty mouth on my thigh…there is another part of me which would welcome those pretty lips in a feverish kiss.” He said, intently brushing her helix and happily noted the goosebumps on her upper arm.

He always loved being the dominant one, leading his partners on the road of foreplay, but now…just seeing this beautiful woman under him, completely at his mercy…he felt like a hungry cat that plays with the mouse to make her heart beating like wild drums at a rock concert, just to make sure that when he will take that first bite from her soft, hot flesh it will be so sensitive and incredibly delicious, impregnated by lust and dark desire.

“Sorry but that particular part of yours must be so tiny because I didn’t even notice it.” She said sweetly with a cheeky smile, trying not to blush as she mentally noted how big her lie was…just like that organ of his…

After she had given him the _cocktail,_ it turned out that it increased his blood pressure, providing a quickened heartbeat and as the blood ran like maddened torrent in his veins, every inch of him got a pretty dose, including his manhood which was everything at that moment but tiny…

“Oh, Lizzie, don’t tell me you weren’t fantasizing about that… how you phrased it? _Tiny thing?”_ He laughed deeply and rested himself on his elbow, next to her as he caressed her now slightly parted legs, intently brushing her sensitive folds. “If nine inches is tiny for you than let it be.” He shrugged, smirking when he noted her dilated pupils as she tried so hardly not to moan. But he wasn’t merciful this night so he just continued, staring directly into her eyes, which from time to time, slipped down to his lips. “So imagine that nine inch long, _tiny thing_ of mine as I thrust into you.” And with that he slipped two fingers between her folds, circling around her opening “So wet already? And all for me?” He asked cheekily, rubbing her clit. “Feeling yourself stretching as I fill you. Because I’m perfect gentleman, I’ll wait until I feel you relax around me and slowly starting to thrust.” His fingers slipped into her slowly and she couldn’t help but moan as she parted her legs wider and slightly lifted her lower self to let his fingers get better access. “In and out, in and out.” He mimicked with his fingers as he started thrusting with excruciating slowness. “Do you feel it Lizzie? All your senses come alive, you can’t think of anything but what I’m doing with you right now. Soon your body will betray your stubborn mind and those perfect hips of yours will start dancing with me. Do you feel it as your sensitive and responsive physical system screams for release? And it’s all because of my fingers.” He leaned closer to bite the exposed flesh above her rapid carotid and Lizzie couldn’t fight anymore; with a high whimper she started rocking her hips against his fingers to drive herself faster and it seemed Red let her. “Just think about what my dick could do with you if my fingers are this skillful.” He whispered and felt that she was close so he slowed down, then withdrew completely. “Where is the pendrive?”

She growled in protest. How could she think about that damn pendrive when she was so close?

“Fuck you,” she spitted angrily as she tried to free herself again with no luck.

“Oh, it’ll happen, sweetheart,” he chuckled “But only if you will be a good girl and tell me where to find it.” He slowly circled around her opening with feather light touches, making her struggle to get release.She tried to navigate his fingers back because it was only matter of seconds and she would burst into a million pieces if she didn’t find a way to let her sexual frustration go.

“Oh, no, sweetheart. You won’t get what you want until you give that pendrive back and tell me where you put that twenty million dollars you stole from my account weeks ago.” He leaned closer to trace his lips along the nape of her neck as he continued, “I promise if you’re cooperating with me, you won’t regret it. I’ll let you come again and again until you pass out.” God, he was losing control, too.

All her desire-hooded mind could think about was his promises that she almost missed his most interesting sentence.

“I didn’t s-steal money from y-you,” she breathed.

He withdrew his fingers as he looked at her curiously. If it wasn’t her – it was obvious, why would she lie about that when she was a step away from her reward? – then who was it?

“So it wasn’t you?”

“No.”

“Then looks like we have a common enemy because that person left your trademark in my safe.”

At that moment they hear somebody shut the front door closed.

“Liz?” He shouted. It was Tom.

 _Splendid,_ she groaned.

“Go, find her,” said another man.

“Get rid of them,” Red ordered as he released her wrists and went back to the wardrobe. He was confident that the woman would not tell the man where he was hiding, she needed him to find their newly-discovered, common enemy.

She threw on her bathrobe and a moment later Tom was in the room.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She asked angrily. Oh, the sexual frustration could turn even a mimosa into a furious beast, so just imagine what it did with a woman like Elizabeth Milhoan.

“Where is your stuffed bunny? That one you have from your childhood?” He looked around and started to throw her things as he looked for the bunny.

“What? Why do you need it?”

“Just answer my damn question, Liz!” Tom yelled, grabbing her upper arms roughly. “Tell me where to find it or I swear to god, I’ll do something that I’d even regret in the morning!” He tried to look confident but Liz knew him enough to read those scared eyes perfectly.

“What have you done?” She furrowed her brows as Tom looked taken aback.

He slowly released her arms to run his hand along the nape of his neck.

“Liz, there are many dangerous men after me and after you as well. Reddington seems like just a little fish, according to these powerful men. I have to find it or they will kill me. They’ll kill you!”

“Did you tell them about this place?” She asked with disbelief as she puton her underwear and grabbed herdark blue jean, a black bra and a navy shirt to change into.

“Liz I couldn’t-“he was about to explain when somebody stepped into the room.

“Good evening, my darling.” He smiled.

“Who the hell are you?” She gaped at the stranger, greeting her as if they were bosom buddies for years. He was in his late sixties with rare white hair and chilling blue eyes.

“Tom, thank you so much for your help.” He smiled at the younger man, then he took out the gun from his pocket and a bullet landed in Tom’s temple.

She yelped in surprise and held her hands in the air “What do you want from me?”

“The Fulcrum.”

“The _what?_ ”

“Don’t play stupid Elizabeth! It’s at your property, your imbecile father whispered it into my ear with his last breath.” He rose his gun towards her direction.

She put her hand to my mouth as her eyes filled up with tears. Maybe the relationship with her father wasn’t the best but she loved him, he was her only living relative after all.

“We don’t have much time. Just tell me where it is,” the man was slowly losing his patience.

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about!” She shouted hysterically.

“Well then you’re useless to me and I have to kill you as well.” He sighed dramatically and loaded his gun when a deep male voice stopped him.

“I highly advise you not to do that, Alan.” He murmured and drew his gun to the nape of Alan Fitch’s neck.

“Ray, is that you?” He chuckled and looked directly at Liz. “So while your father yielded up his soul, you were fucking his greatest enemy?” He laughed evilly.

“Drop the gun. Now.” Red demanded in a dead cold voice and a moment later Alan obeyed. He stepped next to Lizzie, still pointing toward Alan with his gun.

“Fitch, maybe you’re a great politician but you’re just a little man in the White House. Who do you work for?”

“What are you going to do? Kill me? Ray, you already killed a senator today, you don’t need this. At least the police will find your fingerprints on the gun that ended the beloved Senator Milhoan’s life” Alan grinned. “You can’t run away. Matter of time and the FBI will arrive here and they will kill both of you for holding me hostage and killing Sam Milhoan. You still have a chance Ray; kill the girl and give me the Fulcrum. You found it didn’t you? Give it to me and I’ll give you my word to protect you in front of the jury.”

Red didn’t hesitate. He walked next to him with a small smile on his face as he lowered his gun. He looked at Lizzie for one last time before his right fist knocked Alan Fitch out, silently swearing at the sudden pain at his knuckles.

Lizzie was still standing there in shock; she thought for a second that Reddington would kill her and take the man’s offer but then…

“Lizzie, do you hear me? Pack your necessary things! You have five minutes. I’ll be waiting outside.” With that he turned around and left the room.

She didn’t know how but ten minutes after the incident in her bedroom, she was sitting at the back seat of a black Mercedes with her father’s greatest enemy who just so happened to have saved her life.

She wasn’t even sure she realized what had just happened a few minutes ago but all she felt was hunger. Lizzie was hungry for the truth and hungry for revenge.

She knew she found her companion in this crime: Raymond Reddington would help her to put the pieces together.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just tell me what you think about this! :P


	6. Partner in crime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kind words, those’re really important to me! :)  
> Alysha, thank you sooo much for beta-ing this chapter as well!

**6\. Partner in crime**

**_Previously:_ **

_She didn’t know how but ten minutes after the incident in her bedroom, she was sitting at the back seat of a black Mercedes with her father’s greatest enemy who just so happened to have saved her life._

_She wasn’t even sure she realized what had just happened a few minutes ago but all she felt was hunger. Lizzie was hungry for the truth and hungry for revenge._

_She knew she found her companion in this crime: Raymond Reddington would help her to put the pieces together._

**###**

By the time the sun climbedthe sky they were in Slovenia, in a little town at Lake Bled. Red’s safe house was only twenty meters away from the lake and it was breathtakingly beautiful, mainly in the morning light.

But Liz didn’t notice any of them. Only one thing was playing on her mind on the jet and on the drive there: _sleep._

She had one of a hell night; she had been oh, so sweetly tortured by an unbelievably sexy mastermind, then the man who appeared as her friend and fuckbuddy was killed in front of her after he betrayed her and on top of that some sociopath killed her father. It was too much for her tired mind to handle allat once.

She was angry, sad, sexually frustrated but most of all, tired. It was a real miracle that Reddington hadn’t bothered her during their travel.

After Red showed her room she just dropped her bags and undressed until she was wearing only her panties and collapsed to bed without thanking Red for his help or paying attention to his presence.

Liz was lost to the world before her head even hit the pillow.

###

Red exitedher room and didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until his body screamed for oxygen. This woman would be the death of him one day.

This little escape used up all his energy as well and after he bid goodbye to Dembe Red went straight to the bathroom for a quick, refreshing shower.

As he undressed himself his thoughts travelled back to the sweetly sleeping womannext door.

Truth be told he felt sorry for her. She was so young to experience such cruel things. He didn’t know why but he felt a huge urge toprotecting her from any other harm.

He huffed, amused.

Nearly two weeks ago they had wanted to kill each other and now they were partners – at least Red assumed her agreement when she followed him to the jet. Maybe she was still under the shock and didn’t really know what she was doing.

Hell, **he** wasn’t even sure what **he** was doing!

He was protecting his greatest enemy’s little girl, fuelingthat particulargroup’s fury once more. He could have at least started negotiating with firing a bullet into this pretty woman’s head.

But…

He couldn’t explain how…

Or why…

Maybe…

Yes, maybe she was worthy living longerand worth getting to knowbetter.

While he had been searching for her, Red couldn’t help but at the end of the day he playedtheir first meeting in his mind again and again. If he didn’t even count their unresolved sexual tension and mutual attraction Red actually had a really great time with Lizzie. She was funny, intelligent and whenever there was a lull in the conversationhe didn’t felt the urge tosearch for a meaningless topic just to hold the conversation up between them. No.

The silence was equally pleasurable, only her laugh made it even better.

He shook his head as he opened the shower. He liked her a lot and he clearly felt that this emotion was stronger than he had expected. For a careless moment a scary thought ran through him; maybe he would be able to love her.

One of the basic emotions that he couldn’t allow to feel. It would be dangerous for both of them, not to mention that Elizabeth wouldn’t be able to love him back.

 _Stupid Raymond,_ he thought and chuckled bitterly.

The temperature was already hot so he didn’t really bother putting more clothes on thanloose black boxers and after tossing and turning a bithe found dreamland.

###

Lizzie was woken up in the most horrible way: her own screams pushed Liz back to reality and she sat up immediately as if she couldn’t breathe properly. She was already hyperventilating when somebody ripped openher door and ran next to her.

“Ms. Milhoan, try to calm down.” It was Dembe, Red’s bodyguard.

“I…can’t…” she said with teary eyes. She thanked her lucky stars that after Reddington had left her room she had woken up an hour later and put on a loose t-shirt and shorts.

“Yes, you can. Breathe in…and out.” He didn’t touch her, he was just kneeling in front of her but his soothingvoice somehow helped her to calm down. “Better?”

“Yeah, thank you, Dembe.” She really tried to smile at him but the lump in her throat didn’t allow her because she knew if she were about to let it go Liz would burst out in tears in front of him. It was something she didn’t want and as if Dembe could sense her uneasiness, he stood up.

“I made some coffee and a light breakfast. Well, it’s time for dinner than breakfast but… do you want me to bring you some?”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll have a shower and then I’ll join you in the kitchen.” This time she was able to form a tiny lip-turn up for this nice man.

“Okay, but currently one bathroom is available in the house. You need to use Raymond’s. It’s next to your room and you can find a fresh towel there.”

She nodded and together they left her room. Liz drew a deep breath and quietly entered Red’s room. What she sawwas funny yet adorable; the fearful Concierge of Crime was sprawled on his belly, hands under the pillow, snoring softly. She couldn’t help but tip-toecloser to admire the beast. The beast whom she wanted to hunt down, who saved her life a few hours ago, who had appreciatively nice legs. They were well shaped and sexy, ending up in a muscular ass that surely tempted women to spank the hell out of him. Or at least grab and squeeze it.

She didn’t even notice thescars on his back, now she accepted them and became a part of him as well. A part of his human perfection.

She shook her head and went to the bathroom while she was thinking about what could have happened between them if Fitch hadn’t appeared and…at that moment the memory crossed her mind; she was alone in this world. Her father was dead. Would she be able to go to his funeral?

She quickly disrobed herself from the sweaty clothes and spent twenty minutes under the shower, silently crying.

Whenshe had calmed down enough and the steamwas getting unbearable, Liz stepped out fromthe shower to dress into her fresh clothes.

She looked around and a silent “fuuuuck” left her mouth. She was so used to having her things in her bathroom in Provence that she totally forgot to bring new ones with her. Despite her sweaty t-shirt, her panties appeared appropriate for the quick trip back to her room and maybe Red had a bathrobe somewhere in the room.

Liz slightly opened the door and saw that Red was still sleeping peacefully, now on his back.

Of course there wasn’t a bathrobe in sightso she decided that she would borrow one of his shirts. She opened his wardrobe and picked up a baby blue one.

###

Red never slept deep enough to ignore if somebody stepped into his room. Hewoke up themomentLiz entered. Red was also well aware that after her shower she was trying to snoop around his stuff. Again.

He slowly opened his eyes as he satup but the viewwaiting for him was something he didn’t except; Lizzie tossed the white fluffy towel away and grabbed one of his shirts while she was wearing nothing butimpudently small panties. Thewater drops from her dump hair lazily rolled down on that deliciously violin-shaped back that he had the pleasure to taste last night.

He sensed that she wasn’t aware of his conscious presence in the room so he rested himself on his palmsand lazily drank every curve of her while delightful warmness pooled in his belly, making his boxers tighter and tighter.

She was so busy with the buttons, she didn’t even recognize him until she turned around.

“Oh my, you scared the hell out of me!” She was so taken aback, holding her pounding heart. She even stopped buttoning, leaving less work for Red’s imagination, feeding his desire.

“I promise, next time when you try to steal my clothes I won’t wake up.” He chuckled throatily and covered himself with a blanket sohis hardening groin wasn’t that obvious.

She blushed heavily. “Sorry, I forgot my own…Dembe said…if it’s bothering you…” she stuttered.

“No need to be embarrassed, sweetheart. You’re more than welcome to use my shirts,” he growled an octave lower as he took a predatory look on her and smugly grinned when she squirmed under his penetrating stare.

But when it crossed his mind how damaged her life was now, he tried to gain some sense and cleared his throat.

“Dembe made some coffee.” she addressed him, desperately trying to avoid the previous moment. Getting hot and bothered by Red’s mere blink was something she didn’t need right now.

“Go ahead, I’ll join a bit later. After dinner we have to discuss a few things.” He looked away because he knew he could tell her how much he wanted her withsimple eye-contact.

She nodded and left.

After Red had taken care of his… _personal_ problem and received a very interesting phone call from one of his assets, he joinedLiz and Dembe dressed in his dark grey suit without the jacket.

They ate in silence, only the birds provided a silent symphony in the background. They were inthe living room, sipping their coffee when Red finally broke the silence.

“One of my assets called from Washington. It’s about your father.” He said carefully, watching every move of hers.

She swallowed the last drop and slowly put down the mug, her eyes never left his.

“And?” She urged.

“Lizzie, before I tell you anything, you need to promise me that you’ll follow my instructions.”

“Just tell m…”

“Promise me that you’ll follow my instructions,” he ordered gently.

“How…”

“Elizabeth!” Red snapped angrily.

She sighed heavily “Okay. I promise.”

He nodded triumphaly “I got information that your father is alive.” As the words left his mouth, Lizzie jumped from her seat. “Calm down.” He grabbed her upper arms to have her full attention. “I don’t know where he is right now. All I know is that the headshot didn’t kill him but I have a contact here who could help. I’ll meet with him tonight, BUT you,” he pointed with his index finger to Liz, “need to stay here!”

“What, why? No way!” She protested immediately.

“You can’t come with me because he could recognize you. We won’t risk that, so you stay here with Mr. Vargas.” At that moment a weird black-haired man walked in.

The truth is that he didn’t want her to come because this asset was a really charming womanizer who couldn’t pay attention if a beautiful woman was in the room…and, well if Red could see how Lizzie and his asset were flirting with each other he wouldn’t be able to concentrate either.

Red picked up his fedora and jacket, ready to go while Lizzie was in his trail, yelling at him and protesting.

“You can’t make me stay here, you hear me?! You son of a bitch!” She spitted angrily, as she threw a vase toward him that smashed on the wall, a bare meter away from Red’s torso.

He sighed heavily and removed his fedora “Dembe, would you hold this for me? Thank you.” He slowly turned around and approached Liz casually then out of blue he picked her up firemanstyle and threw her on the middle of her bed and before Liz could follow him he locked the door. He pulled Mr. Vargas by his shoulder. “Nobody can come in and she definitely can’t go out. Understood?” With that Red pushed a gun into Mr. Vargas’s hands.

“Of course, Mr. Reddington!” He smiled reassuringly. “But what about the windows?”

“They are also locked up and bulletproof so she can’t go out there.” He nodded and re-placed his fedora while he caught her colorful language from behind the door.

 _“Oh, girl, what you will get from me for swearing…”_ he chuckled and left with Dembe.

Meanwhile Lizzie was already planning her evil escape plan…

**_To be continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will she escape and find Red? If you have a little time, please give me a few words! :)


	7. The way you do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the reviews and feedbacks!  
> Alysha, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your wonderful work as the beta-reader of this fic! :)  
> So now, we’ll move forward, some sexy and fluffy moment will come! There will be a song ‘The way you do’ by Devil Doll.

Red and his contact, Fabijan, agreed in a meeting in Fabijan’s rockabilly club. He was a really weird man, but that was why Red liked him. The club hadn’t changed over the years, small but cozy and you could feel the sinful pleasures in the air that the rockabilly lifestyle provided. Truth be told it wasn’t really Red’s cup of tea but thankfully they agreed to meet at one of the pool-table rooms.

“Raymond Reddington, you son of a bitch!” A grey-haired man in his fifties greeted Red with a hug. He was wearing a short sleeved baby blue shirt with a fitting tie, leaving the tattoos on his arms exposed.

“Fabijan, how are you my friend?” Red smiled.

“Just usual things, running business, family-problems. Want a cigar?” He asked with a heavy accent while he picked up his own.

“Why thank you.” Red placed his jacket onthe back of a chair and took his cigar with Rakia, one of the most popular fruit brandies of the Balkans. “How’s your lovely wife?”

Fabijan shrugged. “She hasn’t changed over the years, bossy as always but I’m still mad about her.” He smirked knowingly while they approached the billiard table. “My son just finished university so we officially have a personal doctor. He will be here tonight to kick your ass again in billiards.” He chuckled.

“Well, we’ll see!” Red nodded and hit the white ball, sending two other balls to each pockets.

###

They had been playing for almost an hour, discussing Sam’s case when a thirty year old, dark brown haired man with a short beard patted Red’s shoulder causing him to miss the black ball. Red angrily turned around but his anger disappeared as the pair of happy blue eyes welcomed him.

“Aleksander, so nice to see you again!” Red laughed and shook hands with Fabijan’s son.

Aleksander was similarly well-dressed, like his father, except that Aleksander was wearing a black three piece suit with a grey shirt and black tie, mixed the elegancy and rockabilly together so instead of suit jacket, a black leather jacket was loosely dropped around his arm, and suit pants were replaced by dark jeans.

“You too, Raymond.” However Aleksander was cheeky with Red, he could see how respectful Aleksander was toward him. “I just wanted to say hello but I have to go back because during the way here I picked up an extremely beautiful girl and she owes me a dance,” he winked.

“Wasn’t she afraid of your big monster?” Fabijan shook his head.

“If you’re referring to my baby, then no, she wasn’t afraid of my Harley-Davidson. Sorry gentlemen, but I have to go.”

“You don’t even give me a chance to win back my money?” Red asked with faked disbelief.

“Oh, you really are in bad shape if two hundred dollars matters to you.” Aleksander arched his eyebrow with a mischievous smile at the corner of his lips. “I’ll go and dance with the lady while you make my old man lose. And then we can play our game, is that okay for you?”

“Hey! This old man can still kick your ass within seconds if you make any remarks like this.” Fabijan warned him and Red couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

“Sound perfect tome. You can bring the girl here if you want. We finished negotiating.”

“Bring a beautiful woman into the lions’ cave?” Aleksander threw toward them as he went back to the dancefloor.

“If you excuse me, I have to talk with Dembe.” With that Red went out and approached the bar where Dembe was drinking his beer, watching something intensively, he didn’t even dareblink.

“What’s wrong Dembe?” Red asked as he traced the dance floor with his eyes but he didn’t even need the answer because he already had it.

There she was, the woman whom he had left locked up in her room. She was dressed up in skinny jeans which provocatively exposed her beautiful calves that ended in red high heels and the black tight T-shirt also showed not just her perfect features but her décolletage as well. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun, knotted with a bandana.

She was stunning.

And Red was furious as hell.

How could Liz sneak out? And how could she find just the right man? Because, of course, she was dancing with Aleksander in a fast boogie. She seemed very talented and enjoyed Aleksander’s company.

“Mr. Vargas called a minute ago, he said…” Dembe wanted to explain but Red didn’t wait for him, instead he walked right to the pair.

He was driven by anger and, he didn’t want to admit, but jealousy as well. Lizzie was his…he couldn’t describe their relationship but one thing Red knew; his possession won over every possible adult reason.

“May I cut in?” Red interrupted and grabbed Lizzie’s hand from Alexander’s and quickly turned her around before he pulled her close. The band started a new song, but as much as Red would have wanted, it wasn’t a slow one. True it wasn’t that fast as the previous but it gave the rhythm well, filled with desire, while the lyrics showed all the sinful thoughts that both of them felt.

 _No one makes me feel the way you do_  
No one lays me down the way you do  
I got a bit more curl in my heel when you get through  
And the way you keep your eyes on mine until we're through.  
  
Aleksander, like always, was a smart man who knew that if Red did such thing, he had a very good reason so he just sat back at the bar to finish his own beer.

“How did you get here?” Red asked as he led her slower than the music’s rhythm. His voice was much lower that terrified and aroused Liz at the same time.

A slow, vicious smile sneaked around her lips. Red had just noticed that they were red, just the same carmine red she had left on his thigh.

Well if that wasn’t a major turn on for Red then nothing was.

It just made him more furious. Here was this cheekily young woman in his arms who could make him angry and longing for her touch with the snap of her fingers.

 _I am in charge, I am in charge, I am in charge,_ she repeated to herself desperately while she leaned close to his ear and whispered seductively;

“Next time, you should hire someone who doesn’t faint at the sight of a little blood,” her lips brushed his ear and Red tightened his grip around her waist.

If she hadn’t already drunk two shots with Aleksander she was sure her knees would have trembled from the way Red held her against his body.

“You promised me to follow my instructions,” he tried to argue.

“Never trust in a criminal,” she purred.

 _I said no one makes me feel the way you do_  
Just name the time and place and I'll meet you  
I can't get that kind of loving where I'm from  
Cause this is how with you my bell was rung.

“It’s not funny.” Red scolded her but god, she was grinding her hips against his, and how could he concentrate on his anger?

“No, it’s not. You can’t even dance properly…” she smiled sweetly and gave him the last stroke of mercy as she placed a single kiss above his artery “If you can’t dance I assume you could be that bad in _other activities,_ ” she whispered and Red felt her smirking.

 _“Bad in other act…oh, I’m gonna show you sweetheart!”_ Red thought and with an arched eyebrow he spun her around wildly as he started moving with the music.

 _I said come on baby and show me how it's done_  
Say my name and tell me I'm the one  
And since your loving I ain't been the same  
Make me want to wear a ring and forget my name

He was jiving like a man who had been practicing for decades for this one dance, Liz could barely breathe as he stepped up the pace. He was bending his knees, throwing her around him in wild spins, perfectly obeying the beat of the music.

She barely recognized the calm and collected Concierge of Crime in three piece suits in the man who was only wearing his vest with rolled up sleeves and fedora, who surrendered to the music, feeling as the rock ‘n roll roamed through his body and spirit.

When the slower chorus came she was panting as he pressed her back against his torso, shamelessly treating her neck with open-mouthed kisses, she could feel the sweet scent of alcohol and fruits as his hot breath made the hairs stand at the back of her neck and couldn’t help but moan softly, pulling his head closer.

She didn’t care how or when but she had to get this man!

Red was slowly losing control. The alcohol, the music, the she-devil in his arms made him light-headed and he wanted more.

The sooner the better.

But he had to deal with his associate as well. He took a deep breath and spun her around, their nose were only inches away.

_I can't keep my mind away from you  
No matter what I do, I think of you_

“After the dance you’ll go home with Dembe.” He didn’t leave much room for arguing as he brushed his nose against hers when he realized she had full concentration on his lips.

When she looked into his eyes, it was like they would have looked into a mirror, the reflection of their mutual desire dilated their pupils, waking up the beasts in them.

Both of them were such sinful creatures – and it just made them perfect together.

_And when I look at your picture I start to sweat  
And when you touch me, baby, I get so wet._

“We’ll see about that,” she smiled wickedly and Red knew immediately she was planning something but when he saw her lips crawling closer to his, all he could do was lean in as well. Their lips almost touched when Liz suddenly pushed him back and Red accidently bumped against the waiter who spilled all the drinks on himself.

Red turned around immediately and apologized. When he turned back, Lizzie was nowhere to be found.

“Little minx,” he murmured as his fingers curled into fists at his sides. She was able to fool him twice tonight! Oh, he would enjoy every minute when he would tie her down on the bed and divert her release until she’d scream for mercy, he smirked. But to accomplish his plan, he had to find her first.

Dembe and Aleksander were gone as well and Red needn’t guessing too much where he could find her.

 _All this and more I'd do for you,_  
I'd jump right on a plane just to see you,  
My legs are crossed until we meet again,

He stepped into the billiard room and there she was, drinking a shot of some liquor with Aleksander and Fabijan.

When she put down her glass Liz noticed him and Red clearly saw the mischief in those beautiful eyes as she approached him.

_You're my lover, don't want another,  
You're my hero, my best friend._

By the time the song ended Liz was already at his side.

“Raymond, there you are! You left me alone at the bar…” she turned her luscious lips into a pout as if she hadn’t been the one who left him alone.

Before he could answer Fabijan interrupted him.

“Would you please, introduce the lady for us?” He asked as he walked closer, the predatory eyes never leaving the mysterious girl.

 _“Great, not just his son, but Fabijan’s already hitting on her. Fuck off Fabijan, she’s mine!”_ Red clenched his teeth when he put his arm around Lizzie’s shoulders.

“Fabijan, Aleksander, meet my lovely fiancée, Audrey.” He smirked as he felt her tensing in his arm.

“Why have you been hiding your lovely fiancée?” Fabijan asked as he kissed Lizzie’s knuckles. However he was a married man, Fabijan couldn’t say no to a lovely face.

“Oh my god, Raymond, I didn’t…” Aleksander gasped with widened eyes, suddenly ashamed of hitting on his friend’s lady.

Why couldn’t his father be like Aleksander, Red wondered as he shook his head.

“No need to apologize. You couldn’t know.”

“I’m the one who should apologize,” Liz said “I should have told you but when you appeared with your big…” she wanted to say _chopper_ but Red already misunderstood and didn’t let her finish.

“I believe we still have an unfinished game.” Said Red in a hard tone.

“Oh yeah, right.” Aleksander picked up one of the cue sticks.

“In the meantime, I’ll show the place to Audrey,” Fabijan suggested.

“NO!” Red stopped them and cleared his throat, ignoring Lizzie’s knowing smirk.

“Audrey always wanted to learn how to play billiards and we could play in teams. You’ll be with your son and she’ll be with me.”

She really had to concentrate to play as a lame beginner, if there was one sport she could play perfectly, it was billiards.

A few balls were on the table when Dembe came in to ask Red to follow him out for a short conversation.

When Red returned Lizzie was bent over the table with Fabijan behind her, helpingher hit the ball properly and the black ball successfully landed in the right pocket.

“Yesss!” She shouted triumphaly as she straightened up and met Red’s hard gaze. She felt like a deer caught in headlights.

“Did you just help the enemy?” Red asked as he tilted his head.

Fabijan shrugged “You know, sometimes losing a game is sweeter than winning.” He smiled but it died when he saw Red’s anger. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes. The safe house which we were planning to stay was bugged. We have to find another place for the night.”

“Why don’t we just get on the jet and leave the country?”

“Probably it’s bugged as well. We have to wait. Dembe is searching for another available jet but I assume we have to stay here one more night.”

By his tone Lizzie knew that Red wasn’t angry because of their bugged house, no. There was something else. Was he angry because she was tipsy? Or because she hit the ball instead of him?

Her tipsy mind didn’t work well.

“Don’t have to say any further – you two are welcome to stay at my house. We have an extra bedroom with shower and Dembe can take the large couch at the living room.”

Red nodded as Fabijan and Aleksander left the room to preparing for closing.

Suddenly Liz felt like prey as Red slowly approached her.

“You’re playing with the fire, sweetheart,” he growled lowly.

Her heart pounded heavily as she wanted to step out of his way but now he didn’t let her slip away; he captured her wrists and with a firm push Red pinned her against the wall.

Her widened and scared eyes made him smirk in amusement but it just changed within a second when Lizzie finally understood what he was referring to.

“Oh, aren’t we jealous?” Liz laughed and hissed as his fingers tightened around her wrists and he pushed his thigh between hers.

“Don’t. Push. Me.” He hissed.

“Oh, but I so enjoyed last time when I pushed you over the edge. Wasn’t that fun, Raymond?” She was playing with him.

Red knew she was fucking playing with him but the most frustrating thing was that he let her.

He couldn’t think straight when it came to her. Lizzie was the only woman who dared mock his jealousy. And she was the only woman on Earth who made him this possessed.

“Maybe you wouldn’t enjoy this time. I’m not the only possessive one here. I saw how you could kill that blondie who was flirting me while we were dancing.” He chuckled darkly as the smile suddenly disappeared from her lips and he dropped his voice an octave lower. “Maybe I should just pick her up and fuck her senseless tonight while you can hear her lovely screams from the bathroom, where I’m going to lock you up.” He kissed the soft skin behind her ear as he was grounding his thigh against her core. “How does it sound?”

Maybe it was the alcohol or the unexpected anger she felt at that moment but all the aggression came out of her as she freed her right hand to roughly cup his jaw under his chin and backed him until his waist hit the billiard table.

“Don’t you dare,” she gritted her teeth as she leaned close and before they could meet in a searing kiss she whispered “you’re mine,” and she pressed her lips firmly against his. It wasn’t tender and slow but it was raw and desperate and Red could taste the metallic liquid as she bit his lower lip hard then sucked into her mouth.

Both of them were drunk enough to not care about their current location and when Fabijan returned Red was sitting on the table with Lizzie in his lap, making her moan as he sucked the soft skin at her neck. He was about to unclasp her bra under the T-shirt when Fabijan cleared his throat loudly.

“I don’t want to interrupt the two of you but I think it would be wise to continue your little encounter at the guestroom of my house. I’ll be waiting in the car with Dembe.” He chuckled as he left.

Liz looked back at Red and an evil smile appeared at the corner of her lips, “do you still want that blondie?”

“Oh, no but if I can’t be inside of you soon, I’ll go crazy.” He licked his swollen lips.

“Don’t go crazy, okay?” She kissed him once again and they went to the car.

During the way to Fabijan’s both Red and Lizzie tried to resist the urge of reaching toward each other. They were drunk and horny so if they could feel the other’s skin, there would be no turning back and they already embarrassed themselves by getting caught at the billiard table.

After Fabijan showed them their room Red spoke with Dembe while Lizzie went to the room. She wanted to surprise Red so she quickly disrobed herself and put on the shirt she had borrowed from Red.

Ten minutes later Red returned, ready to continue their session but it seemed the conversation with Dembe took too long because Lizzie was soundly sleeping on the middle of the bed.

It disappointed him, but this feeling was replaced by adoration as he stepped closer. He felt the alcohol working in him well, making him groggy, so he just lied down next to her.

Lizzie must have sensed his presence so she turned around and buried her face into the crook of his neck as she threw her arm and leg around him possessively.

Red didn’t know what to do with that, he hadn’t been in this position for god knows how long but it just felt so good.

He had to change his clothes, he had to have a shower and work a little. Red knew he had to but ending the warm feeling in his heart, it was nearly impossible.

 _“Just one more minute,”_ he thought but his eyes were already closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All reviews appreciated!


	8. Soft then hard then soft again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I continue all my stories, aaand this would be the next one! Hope you’d like it an please don’t hesitate to tell me your opinion! *hugs*  
> I owe with a huge THANK YOU to Meaghan for beta-ing this chapter! :)

_Previously:_

_Ten minutes later Red returned, ready to continue their session but it seemed the conversation with Dembe took too long because Lizzie was soundly sleeping on the middle of the bed._

_It disappointed him, but this feeling was replaced by adoration as he stepped closer. He felt the alcohol working in him well, making him groggy, so he just lied down next to her._

_Lizzie must have sensed his presence so she turned around and buried her face into the crook of his neck as she threw her arm and leg around him possessively._

_Red didn't know what to do with that, he hadn't been in this position for god knows how long but it just felt so good._

_He had to change his clothes, he had to have a shower and work a little. Red knew he had to but ending the warm feeling in his heart, it was nearly impossible._

" _Just one more minute," he thought but his eyes were already closed._

_**###** _

It was wrong in oh so many ways.

He had just made a huge mistake, staying in bed with his greatest enemy's little girl…who was anything but a little girl…who was now spooning against him as he tried to distance himself.

He knew it was wrong – but why did it feel so, so good?

She was so adorable in her sleep, so soft and young, and everything a hot blooded male could want. Not that he adored her any less when she was fighting with him or tricking poor Mr. Vargas, just to let herself feel that she could control something.

In the dim light of morning Red gave up on distancing himself and turned around to welcome her warmth into his arms.

The great Concierge of Crime was getting sentimental as he aged, he thought as he let out a silent chuckle.

It was the only explanation for the delicious quivering he felt low in his belly which was a product of his feelings, not only of his physical wants.

Of course, if he could, Red would fuck her senseless right there and then, but there was one tiny problem with that: it wouldn't be only fucking anymore.

He liked her a lot. She was funny, sassy, and incredibly smart, not to mention how brave she could be when confronting him, yet he simply adored the look in her big, doe-like eyes whenever he switched his mood from calm and collected to true alpha male. It was as if she were a helpless little kitten, who needed to be saved, not the proud panther who lived in her, and it just made his protective male-instincts even stronger. He wanted to tame her in the most brutal, yet most pleasurable, of ways. He also wanted to possess her, and to make her his so that she would not be able to look or even fantasize about other men…, just him.

However, he wasn't sure that any physical action would be good for his confused heart. It wasn't love, he was too old to believe in love at first sight – but he was also old enough to know how possessive he could be with her, and his broken heart wouldn't let her go.

She, however, didn't feel the same. She was attracted to him, yes, but she was interested in being in his company only as long as they were hunting their common enemy. After that – and maybe after a mind-blowing night together – she would continue her life where she had left it… without him.

He didn't blame her, really. He was older than her, and she had yet to experience so many things in life even though he would happily show her the world, Red was sure it wasn't something Lizzie would want, however.

When she stirred and turned around, he slipped out of the bed and headed for a cold shower to tame his morning thoughts.

He let the water run along his back as he rested his forehead against the wall.

Why, oh why couldn't he get rid of her scent? He still felt her on his body;, it surrounded him like a warm blanket that made him feel so alive., He hadn't felt like this in ages. He still remembered how those sensitive lips of hers enveloped his in a feverish kiss where teeth, tongues, and lips danced in a wild tango, fighting for dominance and bathing in pleasure.

He shook his head yet again as he took a deep breath. His thoughts were not helping him settle.

Last night he was drunk and couldn't think straight, but now he realized that as much as he'd want to consume her, he had to let the idea go and end this whole thing between them.

The sooner, the better.

After he shaved, he exited the bathroom with a towel around his waist to find the most beautiful sight awaiting him on the bed. Lizzie, his sweet Lizzie, was reading the newspapers with a mug in hand, sprawled out on her stomach, still wearing nothing but his shirt and her incredibly sexy black lace panties. Ah, yes, and on top of that, she was wearing black- rimmed reading glasses.

Red had a really hard time keeping his desire at bay.

She looked up at him and suddenly her expression changed; her lips parted and a slight smile appeared on her face, her eyes narrowing a bit while lust slowly pooled in them. Her gorgeous legs that had been tangling together in the air above her, now stilled as she turned her attention to the man in front of her. Liz tilted her jaw as if she were calculating how she could catch her prey as soon as possible.

Truth be told, she had always been the kind of woman who couldn't really imagine that a man in his fifties could still be hot underneath his clothes. In the criminal world, there were men with huge amounts of power who tempted young girls, but Liz had never understood them. She had never understood their willingness to touch an old man, just to have access to a lot of money.

Until now.

No, she didn't want Reddington's money, or his empire. She wanted the man himself, the man who was still incredibly desirable. He had strong shoulders, a muscular chest, a bit softer and rounder of a belly than was considered conventionally handsome (she had always had a thing for robust men)…, not to mention his perfect butt and incredibly strong legs. She was sure that she could spend hours feasting her eyes and lips on him.

###

Dear God, this woman would be the death of him, Red thought, as his cock twitched from the heat of her penetrating gaze over his body.

"Good morning," he said hoarsely, and quickly turned around to search for some underwear since the towel did little to hide his revived lust.

"It is," she said knowingly as she walked toward him and hugged him from behind, trailing her fingers along his chest and down to his waist where the towel was knotted, and then playing with the soft hairs against his warm skin.

She'd barely touched him but as the scent of his aftershave hit her, Liz could feel herself getting excited with each passing second.

She wanted him now!

It was true, that last night both of them were drunk, but the pull she felt towards him was still there, and she had to pay attention so as not to get too emotionally involved with this man.

She felt something stronger than simple physical attraction towards Reddington; she couldn't describe it, but it was there, deep in her heart. This feeling frightened her because there wasn't anyone before who had ever made her feel like this. He was a smug bastard sometimes, but he was also exceedingly intelligent with a unique sense of humor. Liz was sure that this man could spend hours just talking about anything. He always paid close attention to all details and, maybe he showed his ruthless criminal side to the world…but now she was realizing how tender he could be with the ones he cared about.

Liz also knew that the cheerful side of him was only a mask for the outside world and that deep down he was a lonely and melancholy man.

Raymond Reddington was a real puzzle and she felt a huge urge to solve him.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth knew very well that in the world of criminals, feelings like love and affection could be a ticket to hell.

She shook her head slightly and came back to the present, only to start sensuously kissing his shoulder blades. She felt Red's breath hitch and, it made her smile wickedly.

Meanwhile, Red closed his eyes to attempt to regain his control.

"Elizabeth…" he breathed out warningly, and then sighed when he felt her tongue drawing lazy circles over the curve of his shoulder. Of course she had to find his weak spot…

"Mmm, I think we have some… _unfinished business_ …" Her hands were slowly trying to unhook the towel, but Red grabbed her wrists before she could. She froze. What the hell had changed with him? He had been so affected by her last night, but now… "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong…but we… -you…" He desperately searched for the proper words, but once again, in the company of this unique woman, words failed him. He took a deep breath to organize his thoughts. "Lizzie, we can't do that."

"Can't do what?" she asked slowly, her body still tense.

"We can't get physically involved… you're my associate. Besides, I could be your fa…" The mere thought disgusted him and he couldn't complete the sentence, but it looked like it had worked because those soft hands left his body as their owner huffed.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" she spat as she grabbed her mug and newspaper, and headed toward the door. "And please, spare me from clichés…" She looked as if his words had twisted a knife into her gut.

He gently grabbed her wrist yet again, to stop her from ending their conversation too abruptly. He needed her to understand that this wasn't a classical rejection.

"Elizabeth…" he started, but she interrupted him as she pulled her wrist from out of his grip.

"Stop calling me that!" she snapped. "You don't want to get involved with me, I got it! But don't even think that you can hide your desire from me," she hissed angrily, like an annoyed panther. She put down the items she held in her hand, onto the nightstand, and approached Red one more time. He tried to avoid her approach but his back hit the wardrobe. They were only inches away, now.

"I know you want me; don't try to deny it, Raymond," she whispered. Their lips were almost touching and Red couldn't help but close his eyes. When he thought that she was about to kiss him, she instead leaned back and looked deep into his now wide-open eyes. "But I won't mtake the first move, and I won't run after you. Why? Because in a matter of time, you'll come to me willingly.," She winked, and with swaying hips she grabbed her items and left the room without looking back.

Outside, she had to lean against the wall as she let out a ragged breath. She didn't know where her confidence had come from, but combined with anger, sadness, and frustration, it had made her dizzy and light-headed. Sure, she'd told him that she wouldn't beg him to allow her the privilege of becoming his lover, but right now she wanted nothing more than to run back into the room and kiss him until he forgot his whole 'we-can't-be-together-because-I'm-too-old-for-you-and-you're-my-associate'thing.

But she wouldn't. No, she was too stubborn to do that.

Instead, she walked out to the garden with an aching heart.

Meanwhile, Red hadn't moved from the spot where he'd just been pinned by this incredible woman. How had she phrased it? He would come to her _willingly_? He chuckled dryly, and hissed as he fisted his hard-on and pumped himself a few times to get rid of his unreleased frustration. He closed his eyes and let himself drown in the memory of her confidence and sexiness. Ah, those saucy eyes, those luscious lips…

Maybe it wasn't a good idea for him to disappear into the bathroom, fantasizing about Lizzie, but he knew that if he didn't get rid of this sexual tension, the next thing he would do would be to shove that little minx against the wall and make her his in the most brutal way.

His Lizzie might be a stubborn creature but his stubbornness would beat hers.

It was going to be a long, long time on the run together.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? Are you interested in the next chapter? :)


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